Best Ever Vegetable Soup Recipe
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Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 2 cans diced tomatoes (undrained)
6 cups broth
1/2 large onion, chopped (more if desired)
2 to 4 cloves garlic (minced, pressed, or microplaned)
2 TB Olive Oil (divided)
2 large carrots, chopped
2 parsnips, chopped
1 turnip, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 to 4 cups chopped spinach or kale
fresh herbs: rosemary, thyme, or sage (use a 1/2 teaspoon of your preferred dried herbs if you don’t have fresh herbs on hand)
salt and pepper
8 oz. small pasta such as orzo or ABC letters (if desired)
half a lemon
optional: Parmesan rind if you have one
Additional Vegetable Ideas (add your favorites!): leeks, peppers, peas, green beans, potatoes, cabbage
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Directions: |
Directions:Step 1. Chop all ingredients and have them ready before you begin.
Step #2: In a large saute pan or wok, heat one TB olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and saute until almost translucent. Add garlic, saute an additional minute. Add the rest of your chopped vegetables (except the spinach/kale). Saute for just two minutes or so. You don’t want to cook them all the way through, the slowcooker will do that for you.
TIP: Giving the vegetables a quick saute on the stovetop intensifies the flavor. Don’t skip this step!
Step 3. Now add the spinach or kale, the fresh or dried herbs, and your salt and pepper. Saute another minute or so.
Step 4. Add the tomatoes and broth to your crockpot, plus the sauteed vegetables. Give it a quick stir.
Step 5. Cook for 7-9 hours on low or 4-6 hours on high. About 20 minutes before it’s finished, cook up your pasta on the stovetop according to the package directions.
Step 6. Remove Parmesan rind if you used one. SECRET INGREDIENT —-> Squeeze the juice from one half of a lemon into the slowcooker and stir– this brightens the flavor. Add cooked pasta in individual bowls, and pour the soup on top. Serve with a crusty bread and let the healing power of warm vegetable soup wash over you!
Step 7. When you store the leftover soup, keep the pasta and soup in separate containers to prevent the pasta from soaking up all the broth.
Helpful Tips and Tricks:
Tip #1: A great knife will be your best friend. My brother-in-law got me the Vitronox Chef Knife a few years ago and it makes quick work of all this chopping! Also, you don’t want to overcook the veggies so be sure to have everything chopped before you begin.
Tip #2: My mom taught me the BEST way to chop an onion. With a steady hand, make cuts downward almost all the way through. Repeat across the onion in one direction. Then, switch directions and do the same– you’ll make a hashtag type pattern. Then, flip it sideways and chop all the way through. This will make the most perfect chopped pieces!
Tip #3: I don’t like to use too much onion, so I’ll usually half it in most recipes. I’ll chop an entire onion, use half, and then freeze the other half in a ziploc bag for my next recipe.
Tip #4: I’m kind of a freak about expiration dates. Okay, I’m a TOTAL freak about expiration dates. Since broth is good for about 1-2 weeks after opening, I’ll write a the date on the top to remind myself to use it while it’s still good– and not have any questions about whether I can still use it or not.
Tip #5: Thank you Rachael Ray for this tip! Having a ‘scrap bowl’ on the side to collect your cast-offs makes for quick clean-up at the end and saves several trips to the trash can.
Tip #6: I’ve gotten lazy and HATE to clean my garlic press. But I love using fresh garlic! Instead, I run a few peeled cloves over my handheld grater and get all the flavor with super easy clean-up. |
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