Look to the lillies: do it yourself spring garlic soup

The more you cook, the more you will get interested in the origins, the history, etc, of the food you cook.  What is related, how, and so forth.  And then things begin to make  more sense.  When you learn, for example, that all of the stone fruits are related to almonds, then not only does that little, soft almond shaped pit that you sometimes see in peaches make a connection, more importantly, you realize why almond goes so well with these fruits when  you bake with them.  When  you realize that many plants are vegetables when unripe, and fruit when ripe, then you understand green papaya salad in a Thai restaurant, or plantains in a Mexican one, as a side vegetable.

And sometimes, what you learn, is just interesting.  For example, did you know that lillies, onion and garlic, are all related to each other? Yes ragazzi, they are.  If you have ever seen flowering garlic, or flowering onions, it will make  more sense.  It will also make sense if you line up the bulbs from which lillies flower, with onions, with garlic, etc.    Now, Annalena does not suggest that you start cooking lillies with onions (although Asian cuisine has used lily blossoms as food for hundreds of years),  but this is interesting stuff to know.

The first spring plants are essentially relatives in the lily family.  Garlic and onions both need a lot of room to grow.   So, farmers go out and glean the seedlings.  If , for example, you have five garlic plants growing, you may very well cut this back to three, or even two.  So, too with onions.   Farmers glean them, and VOILA, we have "spring onions," which look like fat scallions, and "green garlic" which looks like something between a garlic bulb and a scallion.  Let us not forget scallions either, or those harbingers of spring, ramps.

All of them are here, now, and  this recipe is miraculously adaptable.  And it's fast.  And as you go through it, you will see that you can make this as lowfat, or as high fat as you like.  You can have a very light snack, a light lunch, or a heavier one.  So let's go.

We start with chicken stock.  Now, if you make your own, bravo, and  you will need six cups.  Even the best boxed or canned stuff is too strong, to use on its own, so if you use that (which is what Annalena does), mix 4 cups of it with two cups of water.  Put that aside while you work on your greens.

Now, recall all those options up there? Well, let's add leeks too.  What you want is to have about four-five cups of thinly sliced garlic/onion type stuff.  Green garlic, leeks, ramps, spring onions, whatever you can find. Don't use bulb onions or garlic cloves here.  They're too strong.  This is a GREEN soup.  And use as many different ones as are available.  Annalena sometimes tells  you you don't need surgical precision. Here, you do need to try to slice as thinly as possible, but don't worry about uniformity.

Now, pile them all together.  Start heating the chicken stock, and when it comes to a boil, immediately lower it to a simmer.  Add the greens, and simmer for five minutes.  Taste it, and add the salt you want.

Guess what? On one level,  you are now done.  This is the simplest version you can make, but if you think this will be satisfying as a meal, you're wrong.  You use this as a stepping stone.  Today, Annalena added a pound of shelled shrimp to hers, cooked it for another five minutes and she and the Guyman had lunch.  Scallops or other fish will work too.  So, too, would small bits of chicken.  You could also bulk it up with rice, or potatoes.  If you do that, though, please cook them separately, otherwise you will loose the wonderful garlicky broth, especially with rice.

You might also consider adding spinach, or peas, or any other quick cooking vegetable.  In any event, you will have a restorative bowl of soup on your table in about half an  hour,  at the most.

If you try this, please let Annalena know how  you made it.  She's curious.