Although at first glance it may not appear this way, this is a soup for everybody, suitable for the most health-conscious folks but delicious enough that even your kids will eat it. Chock-full of vegetables, it’s also a great soup for using up odds and ends in your refrigerator. The carrots, celery and onion provide the backbone of the soup and are essential, but beyond that the veggie components can be as varied or as simple as you like.
This most ascetic list of ingredients is more than the sum of its parts, resulting in a hearty, savory, winter-time soup. A bowl garnished with a poached egg makes an excellent breakfast.
(adapted loosely from a recipe on www.preheatto350.com)
a tablespoon or two of olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, 1/2″ dice
3-4 medium stalks of celery, 1/2″ dice
2 medium carrots, 1/2″ dice
a clove or two of garlic
a head of broccoli or cauliflower, finely chopped (omit the coarse parts of the stems for both)
a couple zucchini or summer squash, chopped coarsely
a handful of green or yellow wax beans, chopped
2 bunches of greens (spinach — rinse thoroughly in cold water before chopping coarsely–OR — one large bunch of kale, collards, or chard — leaves coarsely chopped and rinsed. The stalks should be removed from any of the bigger greens, and chard stalks can be chopped and cooked with the carrot/celery/onion).
4 – 6 cups stock
2 cups of peas, frozen or fresh (if using snap peas, remove the string before adding; it can be fibrous)
Saute the onions, celery, carrot (and stalks of chard, if using) in the oil until soft over medium-high heat. A little browning of the vegetables at this stage will only improve the soup. Mince the garlic and sautee for 30 seconds, then add the stock and all of the remaining veggies except the peas. Begin with the lesser amount of stock since the vegetables will release some liquid. Add a teaspoon or so of salt, bring to a simmer and then cover and cook until the veggies are soft, about 15 minutes. Add the peas and simmer another minute or two. Puree the soup in batches (being careful if using a blender to do so in very small batches, holding the lid on firmly with a towel; hot liquids will blow the top of the blender in an instant). Add a little more stock if the soup seems too thick, or strain off a bit of the liquid before blending if it seems too thin. Taste for salt and serve with hearty croutons, toasted pumpkin seeds, or grated parmigiano-reggiano.
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