I went out of town right after my veggie box arrived last week, and when I returned home, I had a whole drawer full of vegetables that needed to be used, like, three days ago. I needed a recipe that would make use of broccoli rabe (aka rapini), celery root (aka, celeriac), leeks, carrots, and potatoes. After considering slicing and stir-fying everything together, I opted for soup. It is winter after all, and what’s winter if not soup season?

This recipe is vaguely based on a Portuguese soup I’ve made a few times with potatoes, kale, and chorizo. I leave the skin on the potatoes because A) I like the texture, and B) I’m lazy. Feel free to peel them if you’re so inclined and have some free time. You can also easily veganize this recipe by using olive oil instead of butter, veggies stock instead of chicken, and soyrizo or other vegan sausage in place of chorizo.

Oh, and FYI – this simple recipe gets most of its seasony flavor from the chorizo, so if you like it spicy, make sure you get a really strong sausage or use more than I called for. As it sits now this is a nice, mellow winter soup, but you could certainly turn it up a notch by upping the chorizo to veggie ratio or dropping in a tablespoon of pimentón dulce.

Winter Vegetable Soup with Chorizo Recipe

1/4 cup butter
2 leeks, cut into 1/2″ half circles
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 medium carrots, cut into 1/2″ half circles
2 large red potatoes, cut into 1″ pieces
1 large yukon gold potato, cut into 1″ pieces
(total of potatoes should equal about three cups)
2 cups celeriac, cut into 1″ pieces
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
1/2 lb Portuguese or Spanish chorizo, deskinned and chopped into 1/4″ pieces
3 cups broccoli rabe leaves, destemmed and chopped fairly thin (about 1/2 strips)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
More salt and pepper to taste
Shredded cotija, or similar cheese

In a Dutch oven, melt the butter over a medium heat. Cook the leeks and garlic for two minutes, then add carrots cook and until the vegetables are softened, stirring regularly. Add the potatoes, celery root, broth, and 2 cups water, bring the liquid to a boil. Simmer the mixture, covered, for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are forkable.

While the potatoes are cooking, cook the chorizo in a skillet over moderate heat, stirring often until it is browned lightly. Transfer to a paper towel to drain off the greasy bits.

Once potatoes and celery root are cooked through in the Dutch oven mixture, add in greens, chorizo, salt, and pepper, continuing to cook for another 10 minutes. Remove from heat and using a stick blender, blend soup until it thickens but still retains some chunky texture. Add salt and pepper to taste, and a little water in small amounts if you want to thin the soup out.

Serve with a sprinkling of cotija cheese.

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