When people refer to soup season, I think to myself…really soup is seasonal? I can’t imagine a world where soup is relegated to a cold winter’s day. I love soup year-round and it is my favorite course to play with because it welcomes endless variations and is simple to make if you follow a simple formula of sweating aromatics in fats, layering in flavors in waves as each new ingredient joins the flavor symphony forming at the base of the pot and following a flourish of seasoning, liquid is added to bring the individual flavors together in a beautifully balanced bowl.
I call this basic vegetable soup because it is basically a guideline. The veggies can vary endlessly and the flavor can be readily changed with a swapping of seasonings. Small gluten-free pasta shapes and beans (canned and shelled; dried will need to be soaked and cooked in advance if being thrown in the soup pot) and scan be added to make a more hearty bowl. The only gluten-free call-out is to assure your stock does not have any hidden gluten.
Basic Vegetable Soup
- November 24, 2020
- Print this
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 ½ cups chopped yellow or white onion
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 fennel bulb, chopped
- 1 cup carrots, chopped
- 1 cup green beans (or rother snap bean including yellow wax or romano)
- 2-3 small zucchini chopped
- 3 cups coarsely chopped cabbage (or Lacinato/dinosaur kale)
- 1 ½ tsp house blend seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried basil (or 1 tablespoon. fresh)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano (or 1 tablespoon. fresh)
- ½ teaspoon marjoram or 1 ½ teaspoons fresh)
- 8 peppercorns
- 1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes (or 2 cups peeled seeded and coarsely chopped)
- 8 cups chicken broth
- ½ cup chopped parsley
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese
Directions
- Step 1
- Warm a stockpot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add oil and butter. When butter foams, add onion and garlic and saute until just beginning to soften, about 3 minutes.
- Step 2
- Add celery and fennel, stir well and saute and additional 2-3 minutes, at which point onions should be starting to caramelize.
- Step 3
- Follow with carrots, green beans, zucchini, and cabbage allowing 2-3 minutes between each addition.
- Step 4
- Add seasonings and mix well.
- Step 5
- Add tomatoes and broth and increase heat to medium high.
- Step 6
- When soup comes to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook until vegetable are tender. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Step 7
- Ladle into bowls and top with parsley and grated parmesan cheese.*
- Step 8
- Tips
- Step 9
- Vary toppings depending on the flavor profile.
- Step 10
- Vegetables and seasonings can also be substituted according to what is in season.
- Step 11
- Soups, like stews and braises, are often better the next day.
