SoupsChowders

Homemade Vegetable Soup

Makes 8 to 12 servings

There is nothing like having a pot of vegetable soup on the stove.

I love the smell and especially the texture of this soup. It's super

easy to put together and it doesn't take much time either! I buy the

large bags of frozen loose vegetables and take out what I need and

seal it back. This soup does has a tomato base instead of a stock

base. It is great when sprinkled with cheese when finished.

Description of Ingredients

• Diced tomatoes-I like to use the plain tomatoes, with no additional flavors

(like basil, etc.).

• Vegetables-The variety is really up to you; do get unsalted if available. I

have just listed the basic ones used for most soups. Drain the canned

vegetables (except tomatoes) before adding them to the soup. If using

frozen vegetables, just measure out what you need.

• Mediterranean flavor-Add cannellini beans instead of green beans or

limas. And add slices of zucchini that have been cut in half. Use strips of

fresh basil for garnish.

• Bouillon-Quality is important. Since most bouillons are salty, don't season

your soup until it's finished.

• Pastina-I call this baby pasta. It slightly thinkens the soup and is also

what I call a "filler". You can use other pasta, but I would only use the

smaller ones like ditalini, orzo or stelline (small stars).

Homemade Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp of a good olive oil

• 1 large onion, ½-dice

• 4 medium carrots, ½-inch dice

• 3 celery stalks, ¼-inch slice

• 4 cloves garlic, rough mince

• 2 cans (28 oz) diced tomatoes

• 1 Tbsp of beef bouillon *(I use Better than Bouillon)

• ½ tsp dried thyme

• ½ tsp dried crushed sage

• 1 bay leaf (optional)

• 1½ cups frozen green beans, or 1 can

• 3 cups (approx) frozen small potatoes, or 2 cans

• 1½ cups frozen lima beans, or 1 can

• 1½ cups frozen green peas, or 1 can

• 1½ cups frozen corn, or 1 can (15-oz)

• ½ cup Pastina (baby pasta)

• Grated cheese for garnishing.

• Sea salt and black pepper (add to taste at end of cooking)

You will need a large pot, enough to hold the ingredients.

Instructions

1. In the pot over medium heat, place the oil, onions, carrots, celery and

garlic; sauté for 10 minutes, stirring constantly until vegetables are soft

but not overly brown.

2. Add the tomatoes and bouillon to the pot and bring to boil; lower heat to

simmer and add the thyme, sage and bay leaf. Add the green beans,

potatoes and lima beans; cook for 30 minutes on simmer, covered. Cook

until potatoes are done.

3. Add the corn, peas and pastina; cook for 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf.

*For vegetarian version, use a vegetable bouillon.

Options

• 2 large cans of Veg-All can be used instead of the vegetables. Still sauté

about half the amount of the onions, carrots and celery plus the 4 cloves

of garlic. We like extra potatoes so I still add those.

• 1 cup packed baby spinach leaves added during last 10 minutes.

This is wonderful when doing the Mediterranean-style soup.

KEYWORDS

best vegetable soup recipe, how to make vegetable soup, simple vegetable soup

LAURA LEE ALICE
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