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Easy Hearty Vegetable Soup, just in time for the chilly weather that is settling in across the country. Of course, skipping most of Florida in its path! But we live vicariously through you all.
This is truly the BEST Vegetable soup we’ve created to date! We develop some seriously robust flavors through a quick sauté, bringing our fresh veg up to full throttle!
You seriously won’t miss the meat. And if you wish to add some grilled chicken, it’ll quantify the taste by ∆ for sure 😉 (meaning it’ll be damn good!) You could also easily sub chicken stock for the water.
But if you want to keep it strictly vegetable, just follow the directions and you’ll have a great pot of soup in no time flat!
carte du jour
How we Develop Flavor Base in all of Our Soups
- Sweat the Vegetables: A technique that uses mild heat to soften vegetables and gently draw out their best flavor. Often referred to as aromatics, carrots, celery, onions, shallots and garlic benefit from sweating. Not caramelizing or browning, rather unlocking delicate aromas and breaking down the hard cell walls of these vegetables.
- Season Every Step of the Way: Adding salt as you cook is imperative to achieve full flavor. Season at every stage of the process! Leaving seasoning till the end of the process will leave a dish flat. Season meat before searing, add salt while sweating your vegetables and remember to taste as you go. Adjusting for flavor as you go allows you to create a bevy of flavors you never thought possible.
- Sear the Meat: (If you’re using) it’s a crucial step in building flavor, often done in batches, using a fiery hot pan. Creating a dark crust that develops a deep savory flavor component. Lay your meat in the hot pan and allow them to sizzle for at least 5 minutes before flipping, when the bottoms have a dark crust and come away easily from the pan then you can flip to the other sides. Same goes for grilling too!
Skip store-bought stock and develop a layering of flavors with items you already have in your pantry and freezer!
- Leftover beef or chicken bones
- 1 large onion
- 6 large garlic cloves
- 4 large carrots, broken into pieces
- 4 large celery stalks, broken into pieces
- 2 parsnips
- 2 turnips
- tomato paste
Herbs and other spices of your choice, a few that we always have on hand. Kosher salt, peppercorns, bay leaves, fennel seed, parsley, and thyme.
These ingredients can be adjusted to what you have on hand and the flavors you want to achieve. Add them to the process of building flavor and you are on your way to a rich and savory soup.
Toppings for Soup
- Oven roasted veggies (as pictured)
- Cheese
- Croutons
- Parmesan Crisps
- Chopped Hard Boiled Eggs
- Nuts or Seeds
- Fresh Herbs
- Sour Cream
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How to Make Easy Hearty Vegetable Soup
5 from 3 votes
Hearty Vegetable Soup
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
35 mins
Easy Hearty Vegetable Soup, this is truly the BEST Vegetable soup we've created to date! We develop some seriously robust flavors through a quick sauté, bringing our fresh veg up to full throttle!
Category:Dinner, Soup
Cuisine:American
Keyword:Hearty Vegetable Soup
Servings: 8 servings
Author: Mean Green Chef
Ingredients
- 2Tablespoonsolive oilextra virgin
- 1large red oniondiced
- 1/2teaspoonred pepper flakesoptional
- 2largecarrots peeled and diced
- 1large red belldiced
- 1largegreen belldiced
- 1large yellow belldiced
- 4Tablespoonstomato paste
- 1Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
- 3bay leavesfresh or dried
- 4clovesgarliccrushed
- 3cupsbroccoli florets
- 3cupscauliflower florets
- 2medium zucchini sliced
- 128-ounce canwhole peeled plum tomatoes hand crushed
- 8cupsvegetable stock
Instructions
Heat a large heavy bottomed soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and reheat for 30 seconds. Add the diced red onion and sauté stirring occasionally allowing to caramelize about 5 minutes. Toss in the red pepper flakes (if using) and sauté for another 30 seconds.
Add the carrots, red, green, and yellow bell peppers. Sauté, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. (Pour the plum tomatoes into a bowl and crush by hand or with a potatomasher while the carrots and peppers cook).
Combine the tomato paste, bay leaves, and Italian seasoning to the onion, carrot, and pepper mixture stirring to brown the paste and release the aroma and flavors of the spices. About 3 minutes. Add the crushed garlic and stir for 30 seconds.
Toss in the broccoli and cauliflower cook stirring 5 minutes. Pour in the hand-crushed tomatoes and vegetable stock, bring to a boil, reduceheat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes check the doneness on the veggies and cook till al denté.
If you love soup, like we do then be sure to check out our other great soup recipes!
- Lasagna Soup
- Zuppa Toscana
- Mexican Tortilla Chicken Soup
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Please Share the Goodness!
Angela
Hi, I’m Angela, I grew up in New York in an Irish-Italian multi-generational restaurateur family. I’ve been in the kitchen over 35 years, and it’s still my favorite place to create. Growing up in hustle and bustle of professional kitchens was the forefront for my love of all things food. From baking bread, desserts, to hand rolling pasta and mastering the art of soup making. It was the bedrock that shaped my life.
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6 comments
AngelaAugust 2, 2019 - 2:17 pm
They’re especially delicious and nutritious, Erika! lol Thanks so much 🙂
Reply
Tamara J.August 2, 2019 - 11:26 am
I am a soup fanatic! This one is extra awesome because it’s loaded with veggies.
Reply
AngelaAugust 2, 2019 - 2:18 pm
Thank you, Tamara! 🙂
Reply
AngelaAugust 3, 2019 - 12:19 pm
Thanks, Kari, be sure to let us know how it turns out! 🙂
Reply