Soup

Winter White Velvet Soup

jackieinthecity1 Comment

soup

(It looks kinda dull in this picture but it’s absolutely delicious!)

It’s winter and I’m on a soup kick (if you can’t already tell). This is a recipe that I discovered while watching an episode of Giada’s Holiday Handbook on the Food Network.  It was actually dairy-free, which is not normal for an Italian chef, and there were less than 5 main ingredients + garnishes.  I remember thinking, “how can this possibly be good? It looks so boring.” But I was totally wrong!  This soup is delicious and one of the easiest, fastest recipes I’ve ever made.  And it required very little adjustments to make it CKD-friendly.  It’s my new favorite.

Original Recipe: Found HERE by Giada De Laurentiis

Revised Recipe: By Me 🙂 Jackie

Winter White Velvet Soup

Total: 1 hr 10 min (at most)
Active: 45 min
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 4 parsnips, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces (about 1 pound)
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped 
  • 2 bulbs fennel, trimmed and chopped into 1-inch pieces 
  • 1 onion, chopped 
  • 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds 
  • 1 bay leaf 
  • 1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond or rice milk 
  • Pomegranate Gremolata, for garnish, recipe follows

Pomegranate Gremolata:

  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
  • 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a 3 1/2-quart Dutch oven medium-high heat. Add the parsnips, celery, fennel, onion, and fennel seeds. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Add 4 cups water and the bay leaf to the pan, and stir. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cover with a lid. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are very soft. Allow to cool slightly.

Puree the soup, adding the almond milk as you go. Use either a blender or an immersion blender.  If using a regular blender, you can split the soup in half and puree each half.  Return the soup to the Dutch oven, and heat to warm through–alternatively, pour the soup into a slow cooker and keep warm on the low setting. Serve with Pomegranate Gremolata.

Pomegranate Gremolata:

In a bowl, mix together the parsley, pomegranate seeds, and lemon zest.

Chicken Couscous Soup

jackieinthecityLeave a comment
It’s winter and I, like so many others, have a cold. I walk around trying not to cough all over the innocent people around me or avoiding sneezing in anyone’s direction. One of the problems with CKD is that I can’t just buy a can of soup and heat it up, as most soups contain additives and far too much salt.  Instead, I found this soup recipe online that seemed simple and already made me feel warm and healed.
With some simple changes, I made it work for the CKD diet.  I did not add any salt to this recipe and cooked the chicken from scratch vs buying a pre-roasted bird.  It took close to 45 minutes in total to make and filled me right up.  I also loved the combination of the ginger, lemongrass, garlic and turmeric – they gave the soup enough zing that I didn’t miss the salt.
Original recipe here: http://soupaddict.com/2015/01/couscous-chicken-soup/
COLD-FIGHTING COUSCOUS CHICKEN SOUP

Author: Original – SoupAddict, Revised – Me 🙂
Serves: 4 generous servings
INGREDIENTS
  • 1 cup chopped onions (about 1/2 of a medium)
  • 3/4 cup sliced leeks (about 1 medium, white and light green parts only)
  • 1/2 cup sliced carrots (about 1 medium)
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery (about 2 ribs)
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • 1 tablespoon minced lemongrass (or paste)
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 4 cups salt-free chicken stock
  • 8 ounces chicken tenders or thin-cut chicken breasts
  • 1 cup pearl couscous
  • 1/2 of a large lemon or 1 small full lemon
  • pepper
  • chopped fresh parsley for garnish
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Cut up the chicken tenders or thinly-sliced breasts into small pieces. They should be chunks easily consumed in one bite.
  2. Heat 2 tablespoons of canola oil over medium heat.  Add the small pieces of raw chicken. Cook for about 5-6 minutes or until the pink has disappeared.
  3. Add the onions, leeks, carrots, and celery. Saute until the vegetables are soft, about 6 minutes. If necessary, add a tablespoon of the chicken stock to make sure none of the mixture sticks to the bottom.  Stir in the ginger, lemongrass, and garlic, and heat until aromatic. Sprinkle the turmeric over the vegetables and stir.
  4. Add the stock, chicken, and couscous, and bring to a light boil. Reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer; cook for 15 minutes. Squeeze the lemon into the soup, taste, and season with pepper your liking. Top with parsley before serving.

Take a good, long breath of the amazing aroma and enjoy!!