Puree of watercress, mushroom, leek and potato soup

6 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1 tablespoon Butter or margarine; or oil
1 medium (1\" diam) leek; cleaned and chopped
½ pounds Mushrooms; coarsely chopped
1½ teaspoon Salt; or to taste
3 Potatoes; cut in small chunks (fist-sized potatoes), peeling optional
4 cups Water
2 larges Garlic cloves
2 bunches Fresh watercress; large, chopped (approx 2 cups loosely packed)
1% low-fat milk; (1 cup)
OR soy milk; at room temperature
Freshly ground black pepper; to taste
Sour cream; and/or
Red bell pepper; thin strips

Directions

OPTIONAL ADDITIONS

OPTIONAL GARNISH

1) Melt the butter or heat the oil in a soup pot or a Dutch oven. Add the leek, mushrooms, and ½ teaspoon salt. Saute for about 10 minutes over medium heat.

2) Add the potatoes and garlic cloves, and pour in the water. Sprinkle in another ½ teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, partially cover, and lower heat to a simmer until the potatoes are very tender. Remove from heat.

3) Puree the soup in a blender or a food processer (or directly in the pot with a hand blender). Add the watercress, bit-by-bit, as you pur‚e, until it is all incorporated and the soup is smooth. Taste to correct salt.

4) You can serve this hot, at room temperature, or cold. If you're serving it hot, reheat the soup gently just before serving. stirring in the optional milk at the end. If you are serving this room temperature or chilled, add the milk at any time.

5) Top the soup with a grind or two of fresh black pepper, a little sour cream and thin strips of red bell pepper, if desired, for a nicely finished look.

TIPS: * This soup is lowfat and possibly vegan (if you use oil and soymilk). * The vegetable quantities are somewhat flexible, so don't worry if you don't have exact amounts. Mollie uses 'handfuls." **Mollie Katzen - the author of the Moosewood Cookbook serves up recipes and cooking tips. Updated monthly starting 98Feb.>Kitpath McBuster 98Feb Mc-PER SERVING: 67CAL, 2g fat (27% cff).

Notes: Adapted from "Still Life with Menu Cookbook." Serves 6 or more if you add milk. CookNote: Try this very simple, rich-tasting puree of vegetables, which tastes delicious with or without milk added. The watercress is a spunky presence which gives the soup a peppery edge. Go ahead and make this several days ahead of time. It keeps and reheats beautifully.

Recipe by: Mollie Katzen Monthly (Feb98) Posted to EAT-LF Digest by KitPATh <phannema@...> on Feb 18, 1998

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