Recipe: Polenta Soup with Swiss Chard and Garlic

POLENTA SOUP WITH SWISS CHARD AND GARLIC

"Polenta provides body and structure to this soup spiked with lemon and chard. Serve with a salad of crispy sliced fennel dressed with a fat-free pear-peppercorn vinaigrette, makes a hearty vegetarian meal."

6 cups water
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons vegetable stock, low sodium (or more as needed)
3 tablespoons minced garlic (about 10 cloves)
2 pounds Swiss chard leaves (2 bunches)
1 tablespoon minced lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE CREME FRAICHE SUBSTITUTE:
1/4 cup nonfat sour cream thinned with 1 tablespoon 1% low-fat milk

In a large pot, bring the water to a boil, stir in the polenta, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook the polenta until it is tender.

Meanwhile, heat a large saute pan and add garlic and vegetable broth; sweat for 2 to 4 minutes.

Slice the chard into crosswise strips about 3/4 inch wide, add the chard to the saute pan, and cook until limp, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes.

Add the lemon zest, toss, and add the chard to the polenta. Scrap the pan to ensure that all of the garlic makes it into the soup. Add the red pepper flakes. Continue to cook until the polenta is tender and the soup begins to thicken, 20 to 25 minutes.

Taste, season with salt and pepper, ladle into soup bowls, and top each serving with a spoonful of the creme fraiche substitute.

Servings: 4
Source: Polenta by Michele Anna Jordan