Oh how I love alchemizing spontaneous recipes out of a) Whatever’s available in the pantry or b) whatever’s urgently in need of being used before it spoils in the pantry.

Enter Potato-Pickle Soup. A concoction born of a few pounds of potatoes in our basement so ripe, they were sporting limbs, not eyes. Add to that a mayo-sized jar of pickles that had been residing in our fridge for many many moons, plus some fresh parsley we have on hand and viola – some of the creamiest and most flavorful soup Chef Bill and I have had in a long time.

The recipe is super easy. I imagine the only challenge you may have is the part where the pureeing takes place. My food processor is medium-sized, making it necessary to do in batches. Worth the effort though. I let this velvety soup rest overnight in the refrigerator and heated two bowls for Chef Bill and me. Let’s just say the Jewish kid in him was thrilled to pieces. A healthy and gluten-free way to have the flavors present on a Jewish deli platter tap-dance over the taste buds without wreaking havoc calorically.

Potato-Pickle Soup has virtually no fat, but I drizzled Chef Bill’s with deep-green rivulets of extra virgin olive oil, which only added to the intriguing soft palate of greens this soup is imbued with. Don’t despair if you don’t have elderly potatoes or pickles hanging around the pantry. This works just as well if they’re brand new  Bon Appetit!

POTATO-PICKLE SOUP

2 pounds of potatoes, washed and quartered

1 32-ounce box of chicken or vegetable stock

About 1 cup pickle slices or spears, plus at least a half-cup of pickle juice

1/2 cup parsley leaves, tightly packed

Optional: Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

In a large stock pot, bring the stock to a boll and add quartered potatoes. Lower heat to a gentle simmer and cook covered until fork-tender, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and add pickles and parsley to the stock pot and stir together the ingredients. In batches, puree contents of the stock pot, transferring each pureed batch to another pot or a mixing bowl. When finished, either parcel into Tupperware containers for the refrigerator or freezer or return to the stove and heat over medium-low heat, stirring frequently so the soup doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

Pour into bowls, finish with a bit of olive oil if desired, and garnish with a sprig of fresh parsley.

Creaminess without a drop of dairy!

Disguising the appearance and texture of a vegetable is the underlying point of a recipe like this if you’re not especially fond of little green fronds. Believe me, I couldn’t have dropped 180 pounds and kept it off for nearly five years if I didn’t become more amenable to subsisting on more cauliflower, cabbage, kale, and spinach…I’m much more cooperative than I was a decade ago…but I still need coaxing.  Thankfully, the January issue of O magazine gave me a brilliant idea and I ran with it:  Spinach Pesto.

That’s pesto as in, no basil, ALL SPINACH. You’d think that as a passionate home cook, healthy eater, and recipe developer, this would have occurred to me long ago. But no matter, I had a 10-ounce tub of fresh spinach in my crisper drawer just waiting for a purpose. I loosely followed the O magazine guideline and came up with this emerald-colored and surprisingly flavorful sauce which I paired with mung bean pasta. I’ve been having a love affair with the simple, pale-colored mung lately:  Our New Year’s Day pancakes were made with a gluten-free flour blend that included mung flour, coconut flour, and blue cornmeal, and two days ago I made a massive pot of mung  bean soup. Mung pasta is a little on the chewy side, but its upsides are many, including the fact that it’s gluten-free, heavy on the protein and fiber, and rich in iron, while being light on sugars and simple carbs. Double win!

Spinach Pesto

1 10-oz. tub prewashed baby spinach

4 cloves garlic, peeled

1/2 cup grated Peccorino cheese (made from sheep’s milk)

1/4 cup lemon juice

About a cup of extra virgin olive oil (this amount can vary, what you want is enough oil to make a slightly liquidy paste; something that will emulsify easily over pasta)

In a food processor, blend ingredients together and pulse until smooth. If your food processor is medium-sized like mine, you’ll have to do the pesto in several batches. Don’t be alarmed at the mountain of spinach…it chops down to nothing in no time. When first batch is done (you don’t want to overcrowd the food processor), scrape pesto into a small mixing bowl and start second batch. Serve immediately over pasta and refrigerate any excess. I recommend storing in an airtight container, where it will keep for a few weeks. This is also fantastic on toast or a toasted bagel.

Now isn’t THAT a fabulous way to get the greens?

Veggies the easier way

Unconventional, but I got my spinach today…