Tonight was one of those nights when I had no idea when my hubby would be home for dinner. I prefer to have dinner ready when he gets home so this ambiguity drives me a little crazy (but it is a short trip). When he is working late I tend to make soup. Why soup, easy, it reheats well and even tastes better the longer it sits.
Needless to say I wanted a healthy soup. I was sort of in the mood for a tortilla soup but I wanted a healthier version. I kept the basics the same, onion, garlic, tomato, hominy, cumin, oregano, chili powder, and tortillas. Crimini mushrooms were added since I only had a few left in the refrigerator, and because consuming mushrooms has been associated with a reduction in breast cancer. Dandelion greens were added to the soup because they are a nutritional powerhouse. Why wouldn’t you want to eat a vegetable that has the following stats for one cup?
Amount Per Serving
Calories - 24.75
Calories From Fat (13%) - 3.2
Calories From Protein (15%) -3.6
Calories From Carbohydrates (73%) - 17.90
Calories From Alcohol (0%)
Total Fat - 0.39g
Saturated Fat - 0.09g
Monounsaturated Fat - 0.01g
Polyunsaturated Fat - 0.17g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 41.8mg
Potassium - 218.35mg
Total Carbohydrates - 5.06g
Fiber - 1.93g
Sugar - 0.39g
Net Carbohydrates - 3.14g
Protein - 1.49g
Vitamin A - 5588.55IU
Vitamin C - 19.25mg
Calcium - 102.85mg
Iron - 1.71mg
Vitamin E - 1.89mg
Thiamin - 0.1mg
Riboflavin - 0.14mg
Niacin - 0.44mg
Vitamin B6 - 0.14mg
Folate - 14.85mcg
Vitamin B12 - 0mcg
Pantothenic Acid - 0.05mg
Vitamin K - 428.12mcg
Phosphorus - 36.3mg
Magnesium - 19.8mg
Zinc - 0.23mg
Copper - 0.09mg
Manganese - 0.19mg
Selenium - 0.28mcg
Aren’t those nutritional statistics absolutely amazing? Dandelion greens are something I like to add to our salads, include in soup and make into pesto. If you haven’t eaten them you should know they are a little bitter (like arugula). Adding them to soup so that they wilt makes them less bitter and easier to eat. My husband isn’t fond of bitter greens so I like to make them as palatable for him as possible.
I topped the soup with unpictured crushed white corn chips for a little texture. Even my husband liked this soup. Here is what I did.
Tomato and White Hominy Soup with Dandelion Greens
Serves 2
Ingredients:
¼ cup red onion, finely diced
6 cloves of garlic, finely diced (allow to stand at least 10 minutes after mincing)
½ cup water to water sauté the aromatics
1 cup crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced
28 ounces fire roasted diced tomatoes, diced (Muir Glen)
15 ounces white hominy (drained of liquid)
1 teaspoon cumin seed, toasted
½ teaspoon fennel seed, toasted
½ teaspoon oregano, dried
½ teaspoon chili powder
4 cups dandelion greens, finely sliced
½ cup white corn chips, optional for garnish
Directions:
Cook the onion and garlic in the water until tender. Add the remaining ingredients except the dandelion greens and cook until the flavors marry (at least 15 minutes).
Add the dandelion greens just before serving. I stirred the greens into the soup and turned off the heat. I immediately served the soup with crushed corn chips on top.
Nutritional Information (doesn't include optional tortilla chips):
Amount Per Serving
Calories - 319.27
Calories From Fat (10%) - 31.05
Total Fat - 3.72g
Saturated Fat - 0.59g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 923.75mg
Potassium - 1855.94mg
Total Carbohydrates - 66.97g
Fiber - 16.42g
Sugar - 4.2g
Protein - 13.68g
Comments:
My husband, who is not a fan of bitter greens, told me he really liked the soup tonight and was looking forward to having this for lunch. Too bad I only made two servings of this tonight. Next time I will know to make more.
Each serving of this soup contained the following: more than 1,800mg of potassium, 14,000IU of vitamin A, 70mg of calcium, 400mg of vitamin C, 80mcg of folate, 850mcg of vitamin K, 300mg of phosphorus, 150mg of magnesium, and 18mcg of selenium. As I am typing this I believe I can feel the nutrition flowing through my veins.
You may notice that I added no salt to this soup and still it contains over 900mg of sodium per serving (just under half the daily limit). This is due to the canned tomatoes and hominy. Yet another example of how we are consuming sodium we don’t intentionally add to our food.
That soup looks and sounds so amazing! I've never tried dandilion before and I've never seen them anywhere. This is incredible! I have to find out where to get this super veggie ASAP! Thank you for sharing, Alicia.
ReplyDeleteOraphan,
ReplyDeleteI typically buy my dandelion greens at the farmers market. However, I have also purchased them from Wegman's. They are very popular in Italian cooking. If you have any Italian friends ask them if they know where to buy them. I hope you have luck finding them near your. You could substitute arugula or watercress if it is easier.
Alicia
If you don't have dogs, you can pick your dandelion greens straight from the yard. This soup sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteShenandoah,
ReplyDeleteWe need Rose to weigh in on this. But I believe the dandelion greens in the yard are from the same family at a mininum. I will check with the farmer at our organic CSA this weekend and get her take on this. She is the one that I get my dandelion greens from so she should know. Pam (the farmer) has been very helpful in the past so I am certain she will answer my question. As soon as I know more I will let you know.
I have read that you need to be careful of the source of “wild greens” to know that they come from a location that doesn't get pesticides or fertilizers and that the source is not close to a well traveled road (due to the absorption of car exhaust). The car exhaust leaves my yard out. I buy mine because I am not certain they are the exactly the same. However, I am probably being unnecessarily cautious.
Alicia