The Gluten Free Path

Posts Tagged ‘gluten free vegetarian’

     Recently, I was searching for a recipe that would be easy to adapt for vegetarians. We decided as a nice surprise for our friends, to make them dinner for their first night back from Manchester. By accident I stumbled upon our co-op’s food blog, Sassy Sampler, and found a garlic potato soup recipe. Brilliant! The perfect soup! I already had some frozen “junk” veggies in the freezer I could use for veggie stock. Of course I added my own flair to make it more my own. I’ve added directions for making it vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Because of the ingredients, it is naturally gluten free. So if this gluten free thing is new to you, don’t over think it. This is something that would be gluten free anyway.

What you will need:

4 medium Russets, 3 medium red, and 2-3 medium yellow potatoes
1 medium/large leek, halved, then finely sliced, green and white parts
4-7 cups of chicken or veggie stock(see below for directions for both)
2 cloves of elephant garlic finely chopped
1 small regular garlic head, papery skin removed, top cut off
1/2 stick of butter
2 TBSP of safflower oil
2 bay leaves
1/2-3/4 cup of milk (I used 2%)
Thyme/ fresh or dried to taste
1/2 tsp of cumin or cardamom
3-4 dried Sage leaves, crumbled (I’d suggest using less if using fresh, it’s always stronger)
Black pepper to taste
Chopped green onions and grated cheddar cheese for garnish

     Melt butter with safflower oil until a bit foamy. Add chopped leeks and cook until soft (do not brown). Add finely chopped elephant garlic. Cook about 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Add broth, garlic head, bay leaves and spices. Cook about 30 minutes, or until the garlic heads can be easily pierced with a knife. Add potatoes and cook until they are done. Remove bay leaves and the head of garlic. Mash the garlic out of the skins. Blend about half of the soup in a blender, add swished garlic paste. You may either add the milk to the blender or add it to the soup pot. Pour blended soup back into the soup pot. Serve with a garnish of grated cheddar and green onions or chives. I did mine with green onions.

Veggie Stock:

     Veggie stock is super easy. I save the “garbage veggie parts” and freeze them; such as the bottom part of a stock of broccoli, an onion that got a little rubbery, the ends of zucchini, and carrots I think I might not eat in time. How many veggie extras you need depends on how many cups you want. But remember, it’s not an exact science. It has to do with what you think tastes good. I had two full bags of “garbage veggies” in my soup pot and added 8-10 cups of water. Remember that when everything is simmering, it will loose water via steam, add more water if you want, just remember, more water means less concentrated flavor. Simmer for 4-6 hours or more, until it seems the veggies are soft or even a little mushy. Stir, let cool to freeze or refrigerate, or use immediately.

Chicken Stock:

     I use the bones from a recently roasted whole chicken. I feel that using all the bones, along with the left over meat of a roasted chicken, gives the best taste. But feel free to use whatever bones you want. Simmer bones for 2-3 or more hours. Strain, pick off the meat, add to stock or save for another meal like burritoes or a treat for the dog. Let cool to freeze or refrigerated or use immediately. Aside from using it as a soup base I like to freeze it in smaller bags and add it to refried beans and rice for
yummy tacos.