The spring soup – Turnip greens and potato velouté

La soupe de printemps – Velouté aux fanes de navet et pommes de terre 

A friend of mine told me one day that her mom made excellent soup with radish leaves, that it was something quite delicious and a typical summery dish from her region in the South of France. Thinking about it, I believed her since “root” leaves seemed to be quite flavorful and I wanted to try it for myself. I found some beautiful and long turnip greens at the store and thought that could be substituted to radish leaves. They are quite tasty with a nice peppery flavor. The soup is hearty, made with just a few ingredients, it doesn’t need to have tons of spices and extra ingredients for flavor since the leaves are naturally flavorful and delicious.

Ingredients for 4

• 1 bunch of turnip greens, roughly chopped
• 2 potatoes, diced
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 1 tbs olive oil
• vegetable stock (enough to cover the vegetables)
• 4 tbs plain yogurt or crème fraîche
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Heat olive oil in a pot, add onions and brown them for about 10 min, then add potatoes and turnip greens, stir for a couple of minutes. Add vegetable stock, salt and pepper and cover for about 25 minutes until the potatoes are cooked. Blend soup in a blender, place in bowls and add 1 tbs of yogurt or crème fraîche in the middle of the bowl and serve hot.