Confession: I’ve always found potato-leek soup to be a little on the gluey side. So, when I make it at home, I try to add a green element, especially in spring months. Asparagus becomes quite subtle in this soup and pairs well with the anise-y fennel and peppery arugula in the background. Any manner of peas (sweet, sugar snap, snow) could be swapped for the asparagus. Because we are pulverizing much of the fiber in this recipe, I garnish the soup with a few raw asparagus spears as a carb companion.

Excerpted from Carbivore: 130 Healthy Recipes to Stop Fearing Carbs and Embrace the Comfort Foods You Love by Phoebe Lapine. Copyright © 2024. Available from Hachette Go, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

Ingredients

Serves 4
  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 fennel bulb, sliced
  • 1 large leek, thinly sliced
  • 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced, white and light green parts separated
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 pound russet potatoes (about medium), unpeeled, cut into 1-inch cubes

  • 6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 pound asparagus
  • 2 cups packed baby arugula or watercress
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Cookware Used
Dutch Baby
3.5-Quart Cast-Iron Dutch Oven
$140$75
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Sheet Show
One Half-Sheet Pan & Two Quarter-Sheet Pans
$90$65
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Little Sheet Duo
Two Nonstick Quarter-Sheet Pans
$60$40
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1. In Dutch Baby, heat the olive oil over a medium-high flame. Add the fennel, leek, and white scallions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and starting to lightly brown, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another few minutes until becoming golden.

2. Add the potatoes, stock, and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes are soft enough to pierce with a fork, about 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, trim the asparagus by removing the tough bottom inch, or any section that is thick, white, and hard to cut through, and discard. Roughly chop all but 4 asparagus spears. Finely chop the remaining spears and set aside for garnish.

4. Once the potatoes are tender, stir in the roughly chopped asparagus and all but 2 tablespoons of the green scallions. Cook for 2 minutes until the asparagus is al dente and vibrant green.

Video here!