Adapted from Farre, Viviane Bauquet. Chop, Chop! Vegetarian Times. (April 2010). Issue 376, Volume 36, No. 5. p. 42.

My Comment What better way to kick off spring than this spring soup! Even though it is snowing today (on the first day of Spring) in New England, we’ve flirted with some fine spring weather in the last week. That makes me long for the days when fresh veggies start to show up in our markets! As Viviane Farre’s introduction to the recipe states, the secret to success is getting all the veggies about the same size. And while I’m sure a crisp white wine would be a more subtle flavor, I threw in the alcoholic beverage I had on hand — which happened to be Marsala. Not bad.

Ingredients

3 TBSP olive oil plus more for drizzling
2 large shallots, finely diced
3/4 cup dry white wine
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
3 medium carrots, peeled & cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 large yukon gold potato, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice
2 medium young turnips, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice (I used rutabaga — out of vegetable ignorance)
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
12 Italian parsley springs, 8 fresh thyme springs + 2 bay leaves–all tied together to add to soup (and fish out later — no thanks! I just threw the herbs in the pot)
10 oz. fresh or frozen shelled peas
4 oz. snow peas, trimmed and cup in 1/8 inch wide slices
3 cups lightly packed spinach leaves
2 TBSP minced fresh tarragon for garnish

Method

1. Heat oil in saucepan over medium high heat. Add shallots, saute 2 minutes or until softened. Add wine, garlic, and cayenne. Simmer for 4 minutes.

2. Add carrots, potato, and turnips and saute for 1 minute. Add broth and 5 cups of water (this seemed a bit much — add the water in batches if you’d rather). Tie together parsley, thyme and bay leaves with kitchen twine and add to the soup. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer on medium-low for 20 minutes.

3. Stir in snow peas, peas, and spinach. Cover and simmer five minutes more. Remove herb bundle (see my note above) and discard. Adjust salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls, sprinkle with tarragon and drizzle with additional olive oil if desired.

Serves 8. Weight Watcher points = 5 points.