Arugula Soup

I just love arugula.  The only problem is that the only way I can buy it is in large 5 oz plastic containers.  With just the two of us, we'd be eating arugula salads for a week (is that really such a bad thing?)  But preferring a variety in my weekly menus, I decided to search for an arugula soup recipe.

A found a recipe on Foodnetwork.com but made a few adjustments to suit my taste.  After reading the reviews, I omitted the lettuce and added more arugula.  I used onion and garlic in lieu of the shallot.  I used red potatoes instead of Yukon gold.  And I added less stock and substituted half-and-half for the cream.

A few reviews said they had substituted feta or mozzarella for the goat cheese.  Since I didn't have any goat cheese on hand, I was going to do this but since Jim was going to the grocery store, I asked him to pick some up.  Good thing!  While feta or mozz would have been fine, the goat cheese was fabulous!  It added such a wonderful creaminess.

This is very similar to a basic spinach soup.  I used 3 cups of arugula, but think I might increase it to 4 cups to get more of that arugula flavor (I'd start with 3 cups in cooking, then add more in the blender since it would wilt very quickly in the hot broth).

ARUGULA SOUP (makes about 4 cups or 2 bowls of soup)

EVOO
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tsp minced fresh garlic
3/4# red potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
3 cups arugula (save a few leaves for garnish)
1/2 cup half-and-half
S&P to taste (I didn't use any....my stock was salty enough)
Goat cheese, crumbed or sliced

In a medium pot warm the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onions and stir until tender.  Add garlic and stir for about a minute.  Add potatoes and stock and bring to a simmer of high heat.  Lower heat, simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender, 15-20 minutes depending on size of cubes.  Add arugula and simmer uncovered until leaves are tender, about 2 minutes.  Transfer everything to a blender.  Blend until smooth (be careful with soup sloshing out of the blender.  You may need to use a kitchen towel to put over the lid).

Return soup to pot and stir in cream.  Taste.  Add S&P to taste.  Ladle into soup cups/bowls.  Garnish with arugula leaves and cheese.

Recipe adapted from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/creamy-arugula-and-lettuce-soup-with-goat-cheese-recipe.htm