Ingredients
5 c. water
1 1/2 c. shredded zucchini
1 c. shredded carrot
1 c. shredded onion
1 c. shredded white button mushrooms
c. minced scallions
2 c. loosely packed, coarsely sliced salad greens
1 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. instant grits
4 tsp. unsalted butter or olive oil
1 c. shredded Swiss (Gruyère) cheese
Preparation
Step 1Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan.Step 2Add all the vegetables to the boiling water along with the salt. Bring the soup back to a boil, and boil, uncovered, for 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle the grits on top of the boiling liquid, reduce the heat to low, and cook gently for 2 to 3 minutes longer.Step 3Serve hot in soup bowls, spooning about 1 teaspoon of the olive oil or butter on each serving and topping each of the bowls with about 2 tablespoons of the cheese.
Instead of using the vegetables listed, I have also made this soup with broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, eggplant, and potatoes. I like to thicken it with a starch, selecting grits here but sometimes adding angel hair pasta, semolina, oatmeal, yellow cornmeal, or tapioca instead. Experiment — it will become your soup. A dash of butter or oil is a nice finishing touch, and we like to add shredded Swiss cheese at the end, although grated Parmesan is good, too. Another alternative: When I was a child, my mother used to add cold milk to our soup, and I still love it like this.
