Curly parsley, which is often so elusive at the markets, was out in force last week and I picked up an enormous bunch for just $3. I was inspired to make this parsley soup – a recipe from Rick Stein’s Food Heroes programme. It helped satisfy my current craving for green, brought on by all the tales of nettle soup I’ve been reading recently!
The recipe is easy – boil leeks, potatoes and a bunch of parsley in chicken stock until tender, then add a large amount of chopped parsley leaves at the end (to keep the colour). Warm through and puree until smooth. You can finish this soup with a little cream, although I found it didn’t need it – it’s rich and thick from the potatoes.
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I absolutely adore Brussels sprouts (which I’ve recently learnt are correctly spelt Brussels rather than Brussel). None of my three men will go near them, although I keep trying. I love them cut in half and stir-fried in oyster sauce.
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And lastly, these gorgeous garlic chives were at the markets as well – their aroma was so potent that I couldn’t resist them. They were too strongly flavoured for pesto, but perfect in fried rice.
It’s lovely to have some green in the kitchen during these cold winter months!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
MMMM! Soup! We are just turning into summer here…
Grey May
June Gloom
July Sky
Warm thoughts,
Marilyn
I love Brussels sprouts too! And my man (plus the three stepsons) would rather face torture. Go figure.
Actually, my husband is warming up to them, but let’s say that he doesn’t jump up and down with joy when he sees them in the fridge… :-)
I love Brussels Sprouts, too! Thankfully so do my sons, although my husband won’t touch them.
I hadn’t thought of oyster sauce- I saute them in butter and olive oil and mix into basmati rice. I’m going to try the oyster sauce next time.
Thanks!
I’m just about to make the same thing! But with cauliflower instead of potatoes.
Celia, can you share the recipe? The soup sounds delicious!
Marilyn, you always make me smile! Thanks… :)
Sally, Heidi, what is it with those men? They don’t know what they’re missing.. :)
Bethany, cauli is a great idea – probably even healthier!
Liza, it’s very easy, quantities are flexible, but here are the original ingredients:
2 large leeks
2 x 100g (4oz) bunches curly parsley
75g (3oz) butter
275g (10oz) floury potatoes, peeled and chopped
1.2L (2 pints) chicken stock
50ml (2 fl oz) double cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Wash and slice the leeks. Remove the leaves from one bunch of parsley and keep until the end, then slice remaining bunch and stems of first.
2. Melt butter in large pan, add parsley (excluding the leaves set aside for the end) and leeks and cook gently until soft, about 5 mins. Add potatoes and stock, cover, simmer about 20 minutes.
3. Add reserved parsley leaves, simmer for a couple of minutes, then blitz the whole lot in a blender or use handheld liquidizer. Return to the pot and stir in cream (I omitted this) and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Those garlic chives are very pretty! I don’t think I’ve seen them with their buds on though. Perhaps I need to start shopping elsewhere! :D
And yes it’s well and truly soup weather :D
Soup, Soup! Beauiful Soup! How lovely on a cold autumn’s day – the colour is perfect. Celia, you wouldn’t happen to have any tried and tested recipes for lettuce soup in your collection would you?
Lorraine, I don’t often see them like that either. We ate the whole thing – the buds were really very garlicky!
Jo, I’m sorry, I don’t – look forward to seeing what you come up with though! :)
I am a big Brussels sprout fan too. Never thought about the spelling either but the s makes sense considering the spelling of the city!
There aren’t many foods which bring home to me that some bloggers are living in the opposite season, but Brussels sprouts are one of them. Although they are available all year round in the UK now, thanks to imports, to me they are a strictly seasonal food! Both I and my husband love them, and I’m used to cooking different vegetables for my son.
i love brussels! i like to do a little braise with onion, bacon and toasted panko.
my mom made the nettle soup all summer long when i was a kid. i hated the stuff. it’s very much like a cream of spinach, but what made it terrible for me was not the taste: mom’s blender was iffy, and you know how the stinging nettle has all those little bristles? well, you could feel them all, in an otherwise creamy texture. yuck.
Ha ha, you should republish this on St. Patrick’s Day – a tasteful nod to the color green. Not a green headed Guinness in sight :-)
Anna, August is nearly here! Can’t wait… :)
Suelle, it is seasonal, but I never quite figure out when. They seem to appear at the markets at all sorts of odd times, a week here and there. We’re going to try and grow our own this year, which I’m pretty excited about!
Dana, I thought the stinging bits all went away once the nettles were boiled? Did your mum use raw nettles?
Gillian, you’re right! I shall have to do a green themed post next March 17.. :)
yes, the stinging goes away, but my mom used the whole plant, not just leaves. the stems have these coarse little hairs, they’re also on the back of the leaves only they’re softer there. those on the leaves do melt down, but those on the stem don’t completely, so there’s a gritty feel to the dish. the older the plant, the grittier. especially in the non-blended variant, which is prepared exactly like creamed spinach and served with poached eggs.