Homemade Vegetable Soup

Vegetable soup is one of those recipes, like chili, where isn’t really a recipe.  There are so many different versions and styles, you can try a 1,000 versions without any repeats.  In fact, frequently “clean out the fridge” day at my house frequently results in a pot of vegetable soup on the stove, because I’ll make it with just about anything I find.  In this recipe, I show you a pretty basic version of vegetable soup, that not only tastes great, but is super healthy too.  Along with a salad and/or some good crusty bread, this soup makes a great (and fast if you freeze the leftovers) dinner, that you’ll feel good eating.  Give it a try, let me know how it goes, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Recipe Overview & Keys to Success
As I said, vegetable soup recipes are as much about techniques as they are about ingredients.  Pay attention to these few things and yours will turn out great.

1. Cook similar vegetables for similar amounts of time, starting with the longest cookings.  For example, celery, onion & carrot take the longest to cook, so start them first.  Wait until they end before putting something like peas in, as they turn mushy with too much cooking
2. If you can use homemade stock (chicken, vegetable, beef, whatever).  I admit I didn’t is this recipe, as I didn’t have it handy, and the soup will still be good, but homemade is the best
3. Season.  The biggest issue if the soup tastes flat, is likely salt and pepper.  So make sure to season in the beginning, taste as you go, and adjust as needed.

VEGETABLE SOUP

• 2 carrots diced
• 1 large onion diced
• 2 stalks celery diced
• 1/3 cup diced green beans
• 1/3 cup frozen peas
• 1 16 ounce crushed tomato
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 2 – 3 quarts chicken stock

Vegetable Soup

• Bring a large pot to temperature over medium heat and coat the bottom with olive oil
• Add the garlic, carrots, celery and onion and season with salt and pepper
• Saute until the onions are translucent, and then add the tomato paste
• Cook the tomato paste for ~5 minutes stirring frequently to prevent sticking
• Add the crushed tomato and the herbs, season with salt and pepper and cook for another 4 – 5 minutes
• Add the chicken stock so the vegetables are covered by a couple inches, and bring to a simmer
• Continue to simmer for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender
• Add the green beans and about a minute later the peas, and cook until the beans are tender
• Taste the soup once more, and adjust the seasoning if needed; another trick is to add a bit of lemon juice which can brighten up the flavors a bit

Serve it (I love the soup served simply with bread and butter) and enjoy!

Wine Recommendation with Vegetable Soup: I think this vegetable soup, with its fairly rich tomato base, matches will with red wines.  I’d suggest you go either with a Chianti, which is notoriously good with tomato, or with a spicy/musty pinot noir (avoid a fruit forward style which would be lost in the rich vegetable broth).