Simple Vegetable Soup without Cream

How to prepare simple Vegetable Soup without Cream? anyone can prepare it with just a little effort. Puréeing makes any vegetable soup velvety smooth and elegant. All sorts of vegetables can be used, but the best have some body, like winter squash or potatoes, and aren’t overly fibrous (celery, for example, can be tough to purée without straining first). You can use various tools to purée your soup; some yield smoother results than others. The smoothest purées are done in a blender, in the pot with an immersion blender, or with a food mill; a food processor or ricer does a good job but doesn’t get the soup velvety smooth; and a potato masher or fork, of course, gives you the chunkiest results. After pureeing, passing the soup through a fine meshed strainer, though laborious, will guarantee the ultimate in smoothness and is especially worthwhile if the vegetable is fibrous. Other vegetables you can use: peeled and chopped winter squash, like butternut, pumpkin, or acorn; sweet potatoes; chopped cauliflower, broccoli, or sunchokes; green peas. Recipe makes 4 servings. Preparation time is about 45 minutes. Follow the simple directions carefully:

SIMPLE VEGETABLE SOUP WITHOUT CREAM

INGREDIENTS :

2 tablespoons butter2 shallots or 1 small onion, chopped1 ½ pounds carrots, sliced6 cups chicken or vegetable stock or waterSalt and freshly ground black pepper2 tablespoons chopped fresh chervil or parsley for garnish

DIRECTIONS :

Put the butter in a large, deep pot over medium high heat. When the butter is melted, add the vegetables and cook until they start to soften, about 5 minutes.Add the stock and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat so that the stock bubbles gently and cook, stirring occa sionally, until it thickens slightly and the vegetables become fully tender, 10 to 15 minutes more.Use an immersion blender to purée the soup in the pan or cool the mixture slightly, pour into a blender, and purée carefully. Cool and refrigerate, covered (it will keep for a day or so), to serve it cold. Or reheat over low heat to serve hot. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve garnished with chervil or parsley.

Variation:

Puréed Turnip or Celery Root Soup -  A bit of potato mellows out the flavor so it’s not overpowering: Substitute 1 pound peeled and chopped turnips or celery root and 1 medium peeled and chopped potato for the carrots.

Follow the simple directions carefully and you will be amazed how nice this soup recipe really is. Lots of fun preparing this simple soup recipe and Bon Apetit.