Soup Weather

Here's a little soup I threw together. It is a riff on Caldo Gallego which is traditionally made with white beans and potato. Here I substitute diced turnips and cauliflower to keep it low carb.

Ingredients:
One head of cauliflower, one bunch of kale, one bunch of turnip greens, five to six turnips, one large onion, four celery stalks, six cloves of garlic, 10 ounces of Spanish chorizo, three rashers of bacon, one quart of reduced chicken stock, two packets of Goya ham concentrate. Water, salt, and pepper as needed.



First I peeled, diced, and cooked the turnips in copious amounts of cold water with salt and sweetener separately so they wouldn't overpower the other flavors.


Meanwhile, I sweated the onions until translucent and then cooked the garlic until it lost the raw aroma nd became fragrant. Then added the celery and cooked it until lightly glazed. Next time I will probably add the celery at a later time to preserve the textural integrity.


By this time the turnips began to simmer so I shut it off and drained them immediately. Then I refilled the pot to make blanching water for the cauliflower.

Next, the chorizo went it to brown up a bit and release its fat. I went with slices this time but I think I'll chop them up a bit finer next time. After a bit of browning I added the bacon and began to render its fat too.


Once the fat came out and the chorizo browned a bit, I added in the washed-ripped kale and coated it with the hot fat to cook it down.


After the kale wilted down and cooked for a bit, I added in the washed-chopped turnip greens and cooked them down as well.


By this time the blanching pot liquid began to boil so I attended to the cauliflower. Again I cooked these separately to maintain the original flavor of the soup. Just a 40 second ride in slated boiling water then drain and reserve.


After the turnip greens were nice and cooked, I added in my quart of chicken stock, two packets of ham concentrate, and 3 quarts of water and brought the whole pot to a boil.


The soup simmered for twenty to thirty minutes while I cleaned up the kitchen and reduced just a bit. I adjusted the seasoning with salt, pepper, and a little spice blend that I keep on hand. Then I popped some frozen water bottles into the pot to chill down the contents before adding the turnips and cauliflower in.


The flavor was good, but not as good as it was the next day! Just a couple dashes of chipotle Tabasco and this soup sings!


Salud!