Weekday Vegetable Soup

When I went off to college, my mom sent me with a cooking binder that included a bunch of recipes I loved growing up. Most were pretty straightforward recipes, but I didn’t really start making them until I was out of school.

I cook much more now that I am married and have a house to call my own. And despite the fact that my husband doesn’t eat this soup for the lack of meat and presence of vegetables (eye roll), I make it quite often and enjoy every spoonful of it.

This soup is definitely the recipe I make the most out of the binder, and for good reason. It’s simple, versatile, consistently delicious, and is an easy way to get a lot of veggies in to my daily diet. I love making this soup to eat for lunches or last minute dinners throughout the week as it makes a decent amount.

I love pairing this soup with some crusty bread or a grilled cheese sandwich. My favorite grilled cheese combo as of late has been the Italian truffle cheese from Trader Joe’s with some sliced mushrooms on nice white bread. I classify “nice” bread as anything from french bread to sourdough.

I have also made this recipe with one of my good friends multiple times and I never get any complaints. I probably could use to switch it up here and there, though 🙂

I hope you enjoy this family recipe as much as I have over the many years.

Weekday Vegetable Soup

Total time: About one hour, depending on speed of chopping

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 3 TBSP olive oil
• 3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 large head green cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 TBSP chopped fresh rosemary or 1 TBSP dried
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 1 28 oz. can chopped tomatoes
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus additional cheese for serving

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add carrots, cabbage, onion, celery, and rosemary and sauté until tender and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add broth and tomatoes, and simmer for 45 minutes. Season soup with salt and pepper as desired, then stir in the 1/3 cup of parmesan cheese. Serve with additional cheese.

Notes:

1. This recipe is a great way to get in a healthy dose of your daily veggies. It is also great because it is so versatile. I’ve used all sorts of veggies, rice, beans, greens, potatoes, etc. in it and it always turned out delicious. Just use what you have and what you like.
2. Herbs – This is also flexible. I’ve used dried basil, italian seasoning, and fresh rosemary in this soup before and it turns out great regardless of what I throw in there.
3. Broth – The original recipe called for chicken broth, but I prefer vegetable broth to make the soup fully vegetarian. I also usually use my own homemade vegetable broth (instructions below).
4. Tomatoes – The original recipe called for Italian plum tomatoes, but any kind of cut up canned tomatoes will do.

Make your own vegetable broth:

1. As you cut up veggies for other things throughout the week/month, toss the scraps in a bag to freeze. Literally any vegetable scrap will do – onion ends, carrot and celery tops and bottoms, potato peelings, herb stems, etc. Continue to add to the bag until it is full, then it is time to make the broth.
2. Empty the frozen veggies scraps into a large pot and cover with water.
3. Add herbs for additional flavor (optional). To add even more flavor, sauté some herbs and some of the veggie scraps in a little olive oil before adding water.
4. Bring pot of veggies and water to a boil over high heat, then cover and reduce to a simmer for 1 hour.
5. Strain the broth and compost the veggie scraps.
6. Use right away, or let cool before transferring to jars (I use old pasta source jars). Store broth in the fridge for a few weeks or up to 3 months in the freezer.