Winter White Soup

About once a week I like to clean out my fridge and cook up some dish with whatever is lurking in the vegetable bin. This soup is an example of a happy and delicious combination of flavors. I know it's a lot of ingredients, but it's well worth the effort. You may wish to serve this soup the next day as it improve in taste with time.

• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 60 mins
• Calories: 190 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• ⅓ cup heavy cream
• 1 pear - peeled, cored and diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1 (1 inch) piece fresh ginger, minced
• ⅓ small head cauliflower, chopped
• 1 small parsnip, chopped
• 10 small button mushrooms, chopped
• ½ cup cannellini beans
• ¾ cup Chardonnay wine
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can fat-free chicken broth (Optional)
• ¼ cup fat-free chicken broth (Optional)

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Pour the soup into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour into a clean pot. Alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the soup right in the cooking pot.

Step 2

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan over low heat. Stir in the garlic, shallots, and ginger, and cook until fragrant but not brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the green onions, cauliflower, parsnip, and mushrooms, and cook and stir an additional 5 minutes. Add the pear, beans, mustard, and dill, and stir just until heated, about 1 minute.

Step 3

Stir in the wine and thyme, and turn up the heat to high. Boil, stirring constantly, until the wine is reduced by half and is syrupy, about 5 minutes. Pour in the chicken broth. Return the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, partly covered, until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Allow the soup to cool slightly.

Step 4

Stir in cream, and, if needed, thin with additional chicken broth; serve hot. You may wish to serve this soup the next day. It will improve in taste with time.