Alison Soup

I’ll make this one short and sweet. It stems from a comment my dear friend Jackie made the other day. She called to say I’d be proud of her because she’s been making an Alison Soup, one that doesn’t use a recipe and just results from what she had on hand. Jackie described the root vegetable soup she’d been making with parsnips, potatoes, sweet potatoes and carrots. She leaves the vegetables in large chunks, sautés them with leeks and creates a delicious winter soup using chicken stock. I never thought I’d have my soup making style coined as Alison Soup but I’m honored to have freed my friend from the straight jacket of a recipe at least when it comes to soup.

The beautiful little lesson we can take from this is that in each of us there’s a creative chef, one that wants to experiment with flavors and tastes. I can’t cook with those of you who live outside of New Jersey, but why not invite a friend with a lot of vegetables, combine your ingredients to create a friendship soup? You won’t be disappointed with the taste and I can assure you, you’ll have a fun time and a few quarts of delicious soup.

Instead of my recipe, this week I am so pleased to bring you Jackie’s Soup.

Jackie’s Root Vegetable Soup

1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
2-3 parsnips, chopped into cubes
3 carrots, chopped
1 sweet potato, chopped into cubes
2-3 potatoes, chopped into cubes
2 leeks, chopped
1 quart chicken stock.

Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil in a soup pot. Add the vegetables and sauté for several minutes, until soft. Add the stock. Cook for 15-20 minutes.