Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
1 lb white turnips (about 4 medium turnips)
1 medium Russet (or other starchy) potato
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
handful of leek green tops (optional)
4 small carrots or 2 medium carrots (optional), chopped
½ cup dry white wine - a MUST for this recipe
1 qt vegetable broth or stock
Kosher salt, to taste
Ground white pepper, to taste
Preparation
Cut turnips into roughly same-sized pieces, about ½ inch to 1 inch thick. Peel the potato and cut it into pieces about the same size as the turnips.
In a heavy-bottomed soup pot, heat the butter over a low-to-medium heat.
Add the onion, garlic and turnips and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the onion is slightly translucent, stirring more or less continuously. Can also add some carrots at this stage.
Add the wine and cook for another minute or two or until the wine seems to have reduced by about half.
Add the stock and the potato and leek greens (optional). Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the turnips and potatoes are soft enough that they can easily be pierced with a knife, but not to the point where they get mushy.
Remove from heat and purée in a blender.
Return puréed soup to pot and bring to a simmer again, adding more broth or stock to adjust the thickness if necessary.
Season to taste with Kosher salt and white pepper.
Garnish with a toasted crouton and serve right away.
Makes about 1½ quarts (6 8-oz. servings) of soup.
Optional:
Stir ¼ cup hot cream into the soup just before serving.
Note: The soup can be thickened with rice instead of potato. Just substitute about 1/3 cup of uncooked rice for the potato, and simmer the soup until the rice is soft.
