creamy lettuce & potato soup

creamy lettuce & potato soup
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

our csa must grow quite a bit of lettuce. we usually get one, sometimes two heads (green leaf & iceberg) in our produce box. you would think it being somewhat of a staple food, we'd have no problem using it up, but i get tired of making boring salads with lettuce. i had some wilty lettuce so made soup out of it the other night. our last box had some russet potatoes and celery, so i threw those in there as well. here's the recipe.

8 cups lettuce, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 ribs of celery, chopped
2 medium potatoes, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbs butter
5 cups of vegetable broth
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 tsp thyme
2 tbs flour
1/3 cup chopped green onions (optional)
1/3 cup chopped parsley (optional)
salt & pepper to taste
olive oil

sautee onions in 2 tbs olive oil in a dutch oven or stock pan for about 8 mins, until translucent. add celery, potatoes, garlic, thyme, 1 tbs salt and butter and cook for 5 mins. add flour and whisk until incorporated and cook for 1 min. add wine and cook down for 3 min.

add vegetable broth and bring almost to a boil and add lettuce. when soup returns to bubbling, lower heat, cover and simmer for 15 min.

after lettuce has cooked down, using an immersion blender, puree the soup in the stock or pour into a bowl and little by little puree soup in blender before returning to pot. add heavy cream (or milk if you are fat conscious), green onions & parsley, reserving some of the herbs for a garnish. heat for another minute or so until cream is incorporated. add salt & cracked pepper to taste