Author Notes: It seems to happen time and time again; I buy romaine for salad and end up with left over lettuce . Not wanting it to go to waste I decided to try making soup with it. I wanted it to be a creamy soup but didn’t want to use milk or cream. This ended up being one of my granddaughters favorites. —GiGi26
Serves: 4
Ingredients
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2
tablespoons Butter
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1
medium onion, chopped
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2
medium new potatoes, diced 1/4 inch
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2
heads romaine lettuce, sliced, hard end discarded
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5
cups chicken broth
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1/4
cup chopped fresh basil
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1
1/2 inch thick deli ham ( I use hickory smoked ) cut into bite sized pieces
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1/4
cup julienned (not grated) parmesan cheese
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salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Melt butter over medium heat in a heavy Soup Pot or Dutch Oven. Saute onion and potatoe in the butter until the onion browns slightly and the potato starts to stick.
- Pour in 1/4 cup of the chicken broth to deglaze the pan, loosening any brown bits from the bottom.
- Add the lettuce, stir and cover to steam briefly. Stir every minute or so and continue until the lettuce is thoroughly wilted.
- Add the rest of the broth and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, add the basil and process with an immersion blender. Add the salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the ham and cheese and stir briefly ( you don’t want the cheese to disappear)
- Serve with a loaf of crusty bread or good croutons.