Green Market Puree

I love going to the various green markets around New York City, especially in the summertime when the nearby (and sometimes not so nearby) farmers bring their fresh, homegrown, and homemade produce, meats, dairy products, wines, jellies, jams and baked goods. There is so much to choose from at the height of the season that I know is good for me, but I am not sure how to incorporate it all into my meal plan. One day, when I had a variety of vegetables in my refrigerator, but not a lot of any one, I decided to cook them all together into a soup. Starting with onions, leeks and garlic, I began to sauté them on the bottom of a large pot. Going through the supply I had available, I added cut-up broccoli, carrots, a potato, peas, spinach, tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, and the old Simon and Garfunkel staples—Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. I sprinkled in some white pepper, salt, and Herbs de Provence, and poured in about a cup of chicken broth. Now that I am following a vegan diet, I add vegetable broth or Imagine Organic No-Chicken broth and I use the soup starter packages from the produce section, which often include leeks, celery, turnips, parsnips and dill, in addition to the vegetables I already mentioned. I sometimes add kale or asparagus, collard greens or cauliflower if I have them on hand.

I have heard that juicing is lacking because it separates out the fiber, so I figured that this concoction, which just softens all the vegetables into a sort of stew, would be more beneficial. Once they have all cooked into a soft blend, I blend them even further into a puree with an immersion blender or, after letting them cool, putting them into a blender or food processor. What results is a creamy green mixture that brings to mind guacamole or a concentrated broccoli soup. But the flavor is rich and tasty. In the pureed form, it has a versatility that makes it useful for its own soup (add extra vegetable broth, heat and serve with croutons or a crisp baguette). In the more thickened version, I often will pour it over sliced and fried polenta. When I am in the mood for a simple meal of pasta and marinara sauce, I add about one-quarter cup of the vegetable puree to the pasta sauce to add nutritional value and fiber to the meal. I might also add meatless meatballs or soy crumbles to make a Bolognese sauce.

A tasty way to use the green market puree is to make a Green Pizza with it. Bake a store-bought pizza crust and top with the green puree and some soy (or real) mozzarella cheese. I like to add chopped mushrooms and onions to it sometimes, though both those vegetables are already in the puree. It is a delicious alternative to red pizza. You can serve both or mix the sauces together to have a veggie pizza in disguise. Looks like a regular slice, but the secret sauce has veggies mixed in.

Another way to use the puree is to add a few scoops of it to mashed potatoes. The green puree adds flavor, a touch of color, and a lot of fiber and nutrients. As a kid I would not eat my peas unless they were mixed into mashed potatoes. Here I can mix a dozen vegetables at once into my potatoes. Add some vegetable broth to it all and have a potato soup with vegetables.

I keep the green market puree in a bowl in the refrigerator and use it up within a few days. If I don’t think I will, I might divide it into small plastic freezer containers or pour it into ice cube trays and freeze it. Once they are frozen, take the cubes out of the containers and store the mini-squares of puree in a sealing freezer bag for future use.