I don’t know how about you, but I end up with piles of green leaf plants, stems and root vegetable tops in my fridge. After a week of cooking and shopping I would have more celery stalks that I can use for my soups or salads. Any celeriac (celery root) here in Istanbul comes with the stalks packed with the vitality that makes them curl: you would not recognize the guys if you just know the thick celery from a supermarket. Then chard: its juicy leaves make a perfect börek filling, but what about the thick stems? When possible, I slice them paper-thin and add to the filling, but what if you don’t want too much crunch? Also leeks. “They are onions in disguise!”, I announced once to my laughing mother-in-law. “How can you make them a star in your dish?” I asked her referring to the only zeytinyağlı I can’t bring myself to eating - leeks braised in olive oil. And yet, every time at the market they deceive me with their looks, and I buy more than I can use.
With so much leftover leaves, stalks and stems in your fridge, you should get decisive! I resort to throwing only when things turn inedible, and I have made enough stock to take all the room in my freezer. So why not a vegetable potage?
To make an award-winning vegetable potage, you can pursue either of the two directions: puree the vegetables or add stock. I have already discussed the comforts of the creamy soups, so here I’d just say that if you puree your vegetable potage, you need to plan ahead. When making creamy soups, I always recall my painting classes at the secondary school where we learned primary colors and mixing them: blue and yellow make green, red and blue make purple. You should remember that orange (carrot) and green (leaves) make brown, not the most desirable color for your soup. So stick to the vegetables of the same color in a soup if you are pureeing. But this time I did not want to mix the colors. I wanted each of them to shine through.
The second way to play safe with a vegetable potage is to add stock. Beef or chicken broth add tons of flavor and completeness to any potage. A classic example is the delicious Russian cabbage soup (shchi) where vegetables are cooked in a rich beef broth. Yum! The problem is I don’t buy meat unless for the cooking classes, and I don’t make meat stocks.
So when I came across a vegetable potage so poetically portrayed on the Mimi Thorisson’s blog, it got me thinking. Mimi suggests making the potage ahead to let the flavors mingle and infuse. I remember how the soups like borcsh - that sure have meat but are also rich on vegetables - were always better the next day or maybe even two days later.
I made a vegetable potage with the assorted leftovers I had, but the soup was lacking something. I opened a kitchen cupboard and spotted a small bag of brown lentils, twice as small as the green ones. I inherited the brown lentils from Marina, and the poor guys were waiting for their turn too long. I cooked them (delicious!) and tossed in the soup. I left the potage in the fridge overnight, and the next day had a nice dinner. But still something was missing.
First, I felt it was the yogurt. Forgive me my Russian habit of dumping a dollop of sour-cream into any pottage, but it feels right. If this pottage was Turkish, you’d probably make “terbiye” (literally - “temper”) to thicken the soup: water down a few tablespoons of yoghurt, add vinegar and then whisk in a bit of flour. I love my anne’s soups tempered with yogurt, but I feel I do better in the nutrition department when I don’t cook them myself. I would like to think of this vegetable potage as a meatless variation of the Russian cabbage soup. Meaning a dollop of yogurt works well.
But then - why not to temper, yet in a different way? In Turkey we often melt a huge knob of butter, and as it warms up, stir in the red pepper flakes and dry oregano or mint. After the aromas of the spices pop up, the butter is good to pour over your soup, or pilaf, or pasta. I immediately thought of the tempering used in the Indian cooking: you fry spices in ghee as you start making a meal or want to add a definitive finish. So I combined the two approaches. I warmed up a bit of ghee I had recently made on a small pan, then tossed in a bay leave, a halved clove of garlic and a few spices. I fried them for a moment or two and then immediately poured over the soup. Now, this is a vegetable potage I’d eat every day!
Fridge-Cleaning Winter Vegetable Potage
Feel free to use any vegetables that have been sitting in your fridge for too long and the beans you have in your pantry. For tempering I use the whole spices because I love how the flavors take turns to pop up in your mouth as you are biting into a new spice. But if you prefer a smoother flavor, use the ground spices.
Serves 4-6
1/4 cup brown lentils
2 tbsp ghee or 4 tbsp olive oil
2 medium carrots, cut into match-sticks
1 medium leek, thinly sliced
10-12 stalks of each beetroots, collard greens, chard and celeriac, cut into 0.5 cm slices
8-12 collard greens leaves
10 pinches fine sea salt, or more to taste
6 cups boiling water
For tempering:
2 tbsp ghee / sunflower oil
1 small bay leaf
2 garlic cloves, halved
1/4 tsp whole cumin seeds
1/4 tsp whole mustard seeds
1/4 tsp hot red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp dry oregano
thick yogurt, for serving
whole-wheat bread croutons, for serving
Directions
Cook brown lentils: Thoroughly wash the lentils and pick any stones.Transfer the lentils in a medium pan and add plenty of water to cover them (for 1/4 cup lentils at least 1/2 cup water), bring the water to a simmer on the high heat and then reduce the heat to a minimum and let simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes, or until the lentils are cooked and soft (but not disintegrating). Add more water as the lentils cook, if required.
Make soup: In a medium cooking pot warm up the ghee / olive oil and saute the carrots on the medium heat until they start becoming soft (3 min). Stir in the leeks, sprinkle 2 pinches of salt and let the leeks soften too (3 min). Now stir in the chopped stalks and collard green leaves, season with 3 pinches of salt and cover with a lead. After 3-5 minutes open the lead, pour in the boiling water, close the lead and let the soup simmer on the minimum heat for about 20 min, or until the collard greens are soft and have lost most of the crunch. Season with the remaining salt (or more, to taste), add the cooked brown lentils and let simmer covered for about 5 min. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if required. Let the potage rest covered at least 1 hour before serving, or best - overnight.
Temper: Have all the ingredients at hand and work quickly. In a small pan warm up the ghee / sunflower oil on the medium heat. Toss in the bay leave and halved garlic clove. Stir in the cumin and mustard seeds, and then the red pepper flakes. Turn off the heat and quickly rub the dry oregano between your fingertips into the butter. Stir and enjoy the full aroma of the spices hitting your nose. Drizzle the spiced ghee over the heated up soup (I like to rinse the butter pan with a bit of soup and pour it back in the pot not to lose a single drop of the flavor). Serve with a dollop of thick yogurt in each bowl.
