Leslie Brenner's Arugula and Potato Soup

For some reason, lately, I've been toying with the idea of a fast. Toying is the operative word here, because I'm hypoglycemic and I know intuitively that depriving myself of solid food for 24 or 36 or even 48 hours is a disaster in the making, especially if I'm at all interested in keeping my boyfriend and my girlfriends as slight social acquaintances.

And how does one even go about surviving a day (or two) of fasting? I imagine myself lying prone on my bed, raising my head limply every 15 minutes to drink a slug of some bitter-tasting brewed tea that's steeped with roots and herbs to provide "Vitality!" and "Energy!" and "Rejuvenation!". The room spins and I mostly just want to rip the heads off of the human beings closest to me and eat them for lunch.

That's usually when my fantasy shrivels up and dies, and I go placidly back to chewing on my afternoon cookie, because I (and others) have learned the hard way that not giving myself an afternoon snack is Bad News For Everyone.

What does all this have to do with what I had for dinner last night? Well, I set out to make a simple pureed soup of potatoes boiled in chicken stock with 10 ounces of baby arugula wilted therein, and ended up with something that looked and tasted akin to what I imagine a day of fasting would taste like.

I was expecting something lusher and more deeply flavored, but I got a very thin, watery broth that, except for the droplets of peppery oil on top and the nice, vaguely bitter flavor of the arugula beneath it, didn't taste of much at all. I do have to note that in the midst of immersion blending, my magic wand gave up entirely and spit the blade into the pot, so I was forced to use the food processor, which I'm convinced isn't the right tool for smooth soups. It leaves those disagreeble specks of unprocessed cellulose in whatever you're attempting to blitz into nothingness.

I suppose if you constructed the soup differently, perhaps starting with a leek sauteed in oil, adding the potatoes in chunks - more than 9 ounces, though - to take on some crusty, well-browned flavor, adding the arugula to cook for a while in the chicken broth, and then whizzing the whole thing in a proper blender, you might get a different result.

I paired my bowl of soup with two Wasa crispbreads and a small pile of pickled herring, which I suppose is as close to a fasting regime as I'm going to get these days. Fine with me.

Arugula and Potato Soup
Serves 4

1 carton (1 quart) chicken broth
2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes (about 9 ounces), peeled and sliced
2 (5-ounce) cartons or bags baby arugula
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil (or creme fraiche)

1. Pour the chicken broth into a large saucepan and bring it to a simmer. Add the potatoes and cook, covered, until they are very tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

2. Wash and drain the arugula. Add it to the saucepan. Stir to combine and simmer until the arugula is completely wilted, 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Puree with an immersion blender or in a food processor in one or two batches, transferring each batch to a clean saucepan or warm tureen. Stir in the pepper and swirl in the olive oil or creme fraiche.

Comments

[Julie]

I too entertain thoughts of a fast sometimes and actually, if I was just eating something like this for 24 hours I think I'd be fine with it.

Interesting that you found this soup so bland because really, its parts sound like they should add up to something more than bland. Funny how that works, or doesn't work, sometimes.

[Garrett]

Spiffy picture. I can't say I've ever thought of fasting, maybe fast from other things, but honestly, never from food (with the exception of an event where you ate nothing for 24 hours to get an inkling of what it might be like to go hungry).

I understand it can be an inward or spiritual experience, but I'd rather nosh an afternoon cookie myself.

[miche]

Oh yeah - this soup is screaming for onions (or leeks) and garlic as its base!

[s'kat]

Mmmm, yummy green algae-soup...stuff??

Like you, I've never been able to fast nor go more than a few hours without eating before getting hypoglycemic. Very depressing.

But your soup... no, it just doesn't make me yearn to succumb to any sort of cleansing diet. Ah, well. :)

[KT]

I have done some fasting and I can't last for a whole day ... I can make it all the way until night, and then I can't sleep unless I eat a bagel or something because I get so hungry.

I don't think this soup would help. I like the picture, though. The little oil spots on on top look like polka dots.

[Leland]

Honey, I applaud your efforts, but that is the last recipe I would ever make or want to eat! I can fast for about 45 minutes before I get the shakes.

[ann]

i've been seduced by potato-based soups so many times and they are always disappointing
its really weird, i mean, potatoes in all their other guises are so yummy... but potato soups? just insipid and utterly bland
i wonder why?
maybe this would be good with another base, maybe celeriac or parsley root? oooh or parsnip! yum!

[Julie]

How sad. I love pureed soups made with just a few ingredients, but I can see how this one would be off. The leek seems absolutely necessary; the balance of ingredients isn't there, somehow, and there's nothing to give it a final flavor shock at the end -- no minced scallions or lemon zest or fresh herbs. Maybe arugula simply isn't meant to be made into soup, if it loses its bite.

As for fasting, I used to do it a lot. Nowadays I proudly wear the badge of grazer, and only occasionally last as much as a couple of hours without another "little snack"...

[Luisa]

Julie - at first glance, the recipe does seem fine, indeed. But when looking over other vegetable soup recipes I've made with success in the past, I realize that at least 2-3 flavor-boosting steps are missing...

Garrett - I know it sounds vain, but my thoughts about fasting are usually just for a sense of lightness and re-equilibration that I imagine I might gain, less than attempting to achieve a spiritual connection with anything or anyone. And then I think about how many people spend each day wondering how they're going to feed themselves at all, and I feel pathetically indulgent.

Miche - something like that ;)

S'kat - now if there was some kind of chocolate cookie that would help with a fast, THEN I might be convinced...

KT - I imagine that that's what would happen to me. If I skip even one meal, I become a bit of a raving lunatic with severe stomach pangs. Sigh. Glad you liked the pic!

Leland - I know the feeling...

Ann - now, see, a good vichyssoise or potage parmentier just can't be beat. They're such delicious potato soups. But potatoes really hold the starring role there, well, along with the leeks. In this soup, the arugula just took over. Blech.

Julie - I'm impressed with your fasting skills in a past life! :)

[miche]

My new favorite negative-calorie soup was printed in the SF Chronicle this spring. Cauliflower, turnip and spinach. Together they are fab:
http://tinyurl.com/q9u5t

[Nicky]

Bookmarked! I love potato soup and I love arugula... You might have guessed it, I have to try this soup!!!