Our Favorite Vegetable Soup
I debated sharing a soup recipe with you when just a few days ago I was singing the praises of the new season that’s all but here, but in the last couple of days we’ve done a little 180 back to windy frigid temps and I feel one more wintery dish, particularly if it’s this wonderful soup vegetable soup, is more than warranted!!
Guys, this is our favorite vegetable soup (aptly named, huh?!!) It’s extremely versatile, full of flavor and texture, ever so comforting and never fails to please!
There are three things that make this particular soup so memorable:
1) The use of butternut squash which I think adds so much color, flavor and sweetness.
2) The addition of a teensy amount of butter at the end of the cooking process which adds just a little bit of richness and keeps the broth from having that overly watery quality.
AND…
3). Probably the most important detail—the addition of a rind of Parmesan to the brew. You could probably skip 1 & 2 and still have a very tasty soup, but I would urge you not to leave out the Parmesan—not only does it help to thicken up the broth a bit but it adds such a unique depth of flavor that I just don’t know how to get any other way!
Finally, other than the time it takes to chop up all the veggies, this lovely soup virtually makes itself—just let it simmer away and in about an hour, I guarantee you’ll have yourself a bowl of colorful, healthy, satisfying goodness that just can’t be beat!
Now, all love for this soup aside, will it please warm up?!!!
Our Favorite Vegetable Soup
Makes at least 8 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: About 1 hour
Ingredients
Olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, smashed
2 stalks celery, chopped
4 large carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
Salt and black pepper
8 cups vegetable or chicken broth
One 14 ounce can diced tomatoes with the juice
1 bay leaf
1 large Parmesan rind (I keep them in the freezer but feel free to trim the rind off a fresh piece of Parmesan)
1 butternut squash (or the equivalent), peeled, seeds scooped out and discarded, cut into bite-sized pieces (you could sub in any other kind of squash or even sweet potatoes)
2 large zucchini, chopped into bite-sized pieces
One 15 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Freshly grated Parmesan for serving (optional)
The Recipe
1. Coat the bottom of a large pot or Dutch oven with a nice slick of oil and heat over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, celery, carrots and a pinch or two of salt and pepper and cook for about 7-8 minutes, stirring often, until the onions have softened but are not browned.
2. Pour in the broth, the tomatoes with the juices, the bay leaf and the Parmesan rind. Turn the heat up, bring the soup to a boil and then lower the heat and let cook at a simmer for about 20 minutes, uncovered. Add the squash, zucchini, and chickpeas and cook for another 30 minutes, until all of the veggies are tender. Stir in the butter and season to taste with more salt and pepper if needed.
3. Ladle into bowls and pass around the grated Parm.
Enjoy!
Note: Recipe adapted from Every Day Is Saturday by Sarah Copeland. I tinkered a lot with this and you should too—it’s a very flexible recipe. Feel free to sub in or out any of the veggies or use different beans or no beans or chickpeas at all. The only thing I wouldn’t leave out is the Parmesan rind. It adds a tremendous amount of flavor to the soup.
