Cream of “Yard Weeds” Soup

This soup is a favorite and always brings a chuckle because of the name. The base is a basic cream of spinach soup with potatoes added to make it a more hearty meal. You can also add carrots, parsnips, jerusalem artichokes, or other root vegetables from the garden for a different twist. The “greens” part of the recipe can include young greenbrier tips, so a small handful of the very young greenbrier tubers would make a unique potato substitute if you’re going for that combination. The same goes for smaller, more tender kudzu roots. Powdered kudzu root is a soup thickener in Asian dishes, so just be aware it will affect your soup consistency.

Recipe:

3 Tablespoons Butter

1 cup of chopped Onion

1 Tablespoon minced Garlic

1 Potato, diced

2 cups Chicken Stock

½ cup Heavy Cream

2 cups greens (dandelion, chickweed, young greenbrier tips, violet leaves or flowers, curly dock, lambsquarters, daylily sprouts, kudzu leaves or flowers, etc). *This can be a mix, or a single green, whichever you prefer.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add the chopped onion and cook until tender.  Add minced garlic and saute 1 – 2 minutes.  Stir in diced potato (or other root vegetable) and chicken stock.  Cover and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer until the root vegetable is tender.  Stir in the greens and return to a simmer, testing greens every minute or so until they are wilted and tender.  Do not cook for too long, you want to retain the green color.  Puree the soup with a stick blender.  Puree until smooth, or only partially if a chunkier texture is preferred.  Season soup with salt and pepper and finish with the heavy cream.  Serve warm with a grilled cheese sandwich, crackers, rolls or toast.