Author Notes: This soup is creamy and rich and can be served either hot/warm or chilled. The flavor of the turnips is undeniable, I topped the soup with bacon and wilted radish greens (wilted in bacon fat) I had the soup both chilled and warm and it’s equally good both ways. The soup is made with young leeks, and turnips, very simple and straightforward, no butter only a little heavy cream to soften the sharpness of the turnips. —sdebrango
Food52 Review: What’s great about this recipe is its simplicity. It turns out a rich basic soup that is dependable for a hearty meal with crusty bread or an elegant first course. This soup lends itself to being made again with variations. I had to reign myself in for the sake of testing. Delicious! Side note: I might serve this with mint marinated lamb and a crisp radish mint citrus salad. One variation I’d try is using a carrot puree for garnish.
—Jennifer Essex
Serves: 4-6 (depends on serving size)
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 50 min
Ingredients
Soup
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3
young leeks white and light green parts cleaned VERY well
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3
cups young turnips peeled and chopped
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4
cups chicken broth or vegetable broth (I used chicken)
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1/4
cup heavy cream
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1
pinch salt and pepper to taste
Bacon and greens
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6
slices of bacon (I used maple cured)
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1
head of radishes, greens only
Directions
Soup
- Clean and slice your leeks, I like Amanda’s method, clean, trim and chop into rounds and add to a large amount of clean water. The grit goes to the bottom, then I scoop them out and rinse again. Let them air dry while you prep the turnips. Peel, rinse and chop the turnips into quarters.
- Heat only enough olive oil to coat the bottom of a heavy large saucepan, add the dried leeks and cook only until softened. Add the turnips and cook for a short time you don’t want them to brown only to start to soften, I cooked on medium/high heat. Add the stock, bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium and cook for approximately 30 minutes or until the turnips are very soft.
- You may not need all of the liquid depending on how thick you like your soup, so drain the turnips and leeks and process in blender until very smooth. Pour into a bowl and add back the stock until it reaches the consistency you like. Now add the heavy cream. Adjust seasoning. Stir and set aside while you make the topping. If you are serving the soup warm pour back in the saucepan and keep on very low flame.
Bacon and greens
- Remove the greens from the radishes and clean very well to remove any grit. Lay on paper towel to dry.
- Fry the bacon until crisp, remove from pan and lay on paper towel, add the dried radish greens and saute only until wilted. Remove to paper towel. Ladle soup into bowls lay some of the wilted greens and crumble some of the bacon on top.
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Photo by James Ransom
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