Swiss chard. Photo: VDuBourdieu©2010

Seaford Live! runs until 12 September

With a surplus of lovely fresh vegetables from Dymocks in Seaford, but little time to cook them, tonight I adapted a Russian recipe for a quick soup called Zelenie shchi.

For a more authentic Russian dish, drop the Bonito and Shiso, and add sour cream and dill when serving.

Ingredients
Half the pictured bunch of Swiss Chard, washed, and  chopped into stalk and leaf segments
2 small turnips, cut into 1/8ths
2 medium or 4 small new carrots, sliced across the grain
2 medium potatoes, diced
1 small onion, chopped into 1/8ths
5 cups chicken stock, comprising 2.5 cups of fresh chicken stock and 2 chicken stock cubes with water
2 tablespoons fresh dill or red and green shiso leaves, finely chopped
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon of dashi no moto (dried bonito and kombu)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method
•    Bring the stock and lemon juice to the boil in a large saucepan.
•    Sauté the onion in a large pan for 2 minutes, add the turnips, chard stalks and potato, and cook until golden.
•    Add the fried vegetables to the stock pot, and bring to the boil again.
•    Simmer for 25-35 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
•    Reduce the mixture if necessary by boiling for a further 5 minutes.
•    Add the chard leaves, and cook a further 2 minutes until the leaves are tender but still green.
•    Season with salt and pepper.
•    This could be pureed, but I enjoy the texture of the different vegetables.
•    Serve hot or cold with sliced eggs, and a sprinkling of red or green shiso leaves.