Potato Radish Soup

1 small yellow onion, diced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1½ lb red potatoes, diced
1 clove garlic, diced
6 oz white wine, dry cider or ale
3½ cup stock of your choice
2” chunk parmesan rind
½ lb radish, sliced thin

In a soup pot, sweat the onion in the oil until translucent, then add potato and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until slightly softened. Add garlic and quickly cook until fragrant, then deglaze with wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid cooks off. Add stock, rind and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and cover, turning heat low to simmer until potatoes are as soft as you'd like them. Add radish and simmer 5 minutes or until softened and translucent.

Farmer Ben's Roasted Pepper Soup

Here’s a great soup to warm you in the winter! It uses our frozen roasted peppers and tomato puree. We like to serve it with cornbread or crostini, and salad with homemade buttermilk ranch :)

Ingredients

1 package of Whatley Farm Hot or Sweet Italian Peppers

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 medium potato, chopped

1x 24 oz jar of Whatley Farm Tomato Puree

Bit of butter and olive oil

Dashes of herbs and spices like basil, parsley, oregano, rosemary and thyme

1 generous splash cream or half and half (optional)

1. Do ahead: thaw the peppers.

2. Once thawed, remove the stem and seeds and chop the peppers. Set aside ⅓ of the peppers to add at the end.

3. Sweat onion, carrot, and celery in a bit of butter and olive oil, using a saucepan on medium heat. Add salt and any herbs/spices you’ve chosen.

4. Add one chopped potato and cook until they soften.

5. Add the tomato puree and bring to a high simmer. 

6. Add ⅔ of the chopped peppers and let soup simmer for 20 mins or so.

7. Blend the soup with an immersion blender. Back on the stove, add the remaining ⅓ of the peppers. 

8. Optional: add a splash of cream or half and half just before serving.

Spinach and Meatball Soup

This is a favorite in my (Ailish's) family. My parents made it a lot when I was growing up and, even though it had spinach in it (gasp, vegetables!), I always loved it. 

Ingredients
1 pound ground meat (we suggest pork!)
1 egg, beaten
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs (or GF bread crumbs; or mashed potato)
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste

6 cups stock or broth (my parents always used beef broth, but your favorite will work well)
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups dried pasta (or GF pasta) - usually ditalini, but other small pasta like orzo, stelline, etc. work well
Spinach, coarsely chopped - 1/2 pound if you want it spinach-lite, 1 pound if you loooove spinach

Recipe
Pour the stock and water into a soup pot and bring to a boil.
While the soup comes to a boil, combine meat, egg, garlic, cheese, bread crumbs, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Form into balls about 3/4 of an inch wide.
Once the soup boils, add the meat balls to the soup. 
After all the meat balls are in, add the pasta. 
Stir, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
When the pasta is done to your liking, add the spinach. Sometimes it is helpful to add it in batches so it all wilts promptly.
Once the spinach has wilted - serve!

For a vegetarian option, add diced potato (give it five or so minutes before adding pasta if you cut a large dice) or shiitake mushrooms (add with the pasta). 

Whatley’s Carrot-Cumin Soup for a Crowd

Based on Alice Waters’ “Carrot Soup” in Soup for Syria (2015).

Ingredients
4 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoons olive oil
3 medium or 2 large onions, diced
2 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 Tablespoon dried
1 Tablespoon whole cumin seeds
3 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced
8 cups chicken, turkey, or vegetable stock
½ cup yogurt (optional)
Fresh ground pepper, Sea salt
Handful chopped fresh parsley

Recipe

1. Gently heat the butter and olive oil in a large heavy pot (do not let the olive oil smoke). Add the chopped onions and whole springs of thyme. Saute until the onions are tender and translucent, about 10 minutes.

2. Add the peeled and sliced carrots, cumin seeds, and some salt. Cook for 5 minutes or so.

3. Add the stock and bring to a boil before lowering the heat. Simmer until the carrots are tender, about half an hour.

4. Remove from heat and puree the soup with an immersion blender, if you want. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper. Add the yoghurt and blend it in.

5. Top with fresh parsley, chopped fine.