The Vegetable Soup Recipe Page

Here's a vegetable soup recipe page which uses common organic veg that are easy to grow at home or easy to obtain in supermarkets, box schemes and organic markets.

Vegetable soups are very easy to make and are a delicious way to use your precious organic vegetables, whether you grow them yourself, or buy them.

Well-made vegetable soups are also very nutritious. Made at home, they do not need to be over-cooked and can retain many of the vitamins and minerals of the uncooked veg.

If you have more than enough, most soups will freeze easily for later use.

A note on ingredients

Most of these easy recipes can be adapted if you don't have the exact ingredients. Most of the recipes are very easy, as I believe you don't need complex recipes if you have high quality organic vegetables as the main ingredients!

See below for 

Three vegetables soup

Parsnip and lemon soup

Ultra easy soup

Mushroom soup

Summer squash soup

All the easy soup recipes presented here can be part of a healthy lifestyle but are not fat reduced. You can turn them into low fat soup recipes of course - just by reducing the amount of fat you use.

Most soups develop more flavour if you use finely chopped vegetables and - most importantly - excellent ingredients.

Enjoy!

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Three vegetables soup

Ingredients

Onions or leeks - 2 medium 

Carrots - 2 medium sized ones

Cauliflower or broccoli - a small head or floret

Butter - 25 gm or medium knob

Olive oil - 25 gm approx

Cooked rice - 2 dessertspoonfuls (optional)

Cream or milk - 200ml

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

• Chop the onions or leeks and sauté slowly in the butter and oil.
  
• When they have become transparent, add the chopped or sliced carrots.
  
• Stir them into the mixture so that they become well coated with oil.
  
• Cook carefully for about 10 minutes with a lid on the pot.
  
• Add the broccoli or cauliflower. You can use other greens - whatever you have in season. Don't overwhelm the dish with too much of the cabbage family! A little is good.
  
• Add water to just cover the vegetables.
  
• Cook for another 5-10 minutes, until tender.
  
• Add the milk and/or cream.
  
• Add the cooked rice*. This helps thicken the soup.
  
• Check the consistency. You may want to add a little more water or milk.
• Leave the pan to cool for 5 minutes and then liquidise the lot. You don't have to do this, of course, but it makes for a nice, creamy soup.
• Return the vegetable soup to the pan and heat through. Do not boil it as it spoils the subtle flavour.
  
• Add salt and pepper to taste - or leave that aspect to the individual diners to do.

Serve immediately with crusty fresh bread.
Serves two.

*Always be careful with cooked rice - it should be stored in a refrigerator and used within 2 days of cooking.

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Vegetable soup recipe page:
Parsnip and lemon soup

Ingredients

Parsnips - about 1/2 a kilo or a bit over a pound

1-2 tablespoons olive oil plus a knob of butter

200ml milk or milk and cream

Half a lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

Garlic, parsley and coriander are all good as optional extras

Method

• Clean and prepare the parsnips and chop them into chunks.
• Sauté the parsnip chunks in the oil and butter (and garlic if used).
• Add water to cover (just) and continue cooking with a lid on until tender.
• Add the milk or cream.
• When thoroughly cooked, set the soup aside to cool for 5 or 10 minutes.
  
• Purée the soup in a food processor or blender, or use a potato masher to break up the pieces.
• Check the consistency - add more liquid if needed.
• Return the soup to the pan and gently heat through without boiling.
• Add a squeeze of lemon and serve.

Serves two for a main meal or more for a starter.

The lemon is optional - the soup is lovely without it if you have good parsnips.

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Vegetable soup recipe page:
"Ultra easy soup"

Here's a very very easy vegetable soup:

You thought the other two were easy? Try this one for a quick, nourishing lunch.

Ingredients

1 large onion

1 - 2 carrots

1 teaspoon of miso or half a vegetable stock cube

olive oil or any quality cooking oil

water

Miso is a fermented food from Japan. It is made from soya together with wheat or other grains. It is full of B vitamins and it's rich in protein, manganese, copper an zinc. It is also quite high in sodium so be careful of using too much of it for very young children. Kids often love it.

You can buy miso here on Amazon.

Method

• Sweat the chopped onions in a pan for a few minutes until they become transparent.
• Thinly slice or grate the carrot and add it to the onions.
  
• Give it a quick sauté and then add water to cover.
  
• Cook with the lid on for about 10 minutes to let the carrots soften.
  
• Turn off the heat and stir in 1 large teaspoonful of miso. Alternatively, add half a stock cube after first dissolving it in a little hot water.

Perhaps this is not one for your dinner parties but this soup is really quite pleasant for a working lunch. My kids used to love it when they were little.

Serve it with crusty bread and butter.

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Vegetable soup recipe page:
Mushroom Soup

Mushroom soup is a breeze to make and quite delicious too.

Ingredients

500 gm or about a pound of best mushrooms, well chopped

1 or 2 small onions or shallots, well chopped

1-2 teaspoons of flour

1 pint (1/2 litre) or more of water, or water + milk mixed

25 gm (1 oz) butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

• Gently fry the onions and add the finely chopped mushrooms. Cook them until the juice runs out.
• When the mushrooms are cooked add the flour and mix in well with a wooden spoon.
  
• Add the water or water and milk, stirring continually to aid mixing.
  
• Add extra water if you prefer a thinner consistency.
  
• Simmer for ten or fifteen minutes.
  

You can blend this for a smooth soup.

A few herbs sprinkled in at the end can be tasty. Cream makes for a richer soup.

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Vegetable soup recipe page:
Summer squash soup

Here's another very easy vegetable soup recipe. We've used this recipe for a way to deal with the usual summer glut of squashes and courgettes.

Summer squash - or any other squash, pumpkin or courgette will make a delicious and easy summer soup if combined with onions plus one other vegetable. The secret of a delicious soup is in the seasoning. Add plenty of salt, pepper and parsley, or other seasonings.

Here's one version of this easy vegetable soup recipe. Quantities are deliberately vague because you can vary them widely to suit your supply!

If you want a winter soup you can do something very similar with pumpkin or marrow. Add cream for a richer flavour.

Soup is the original comfort food! Check out this great book for more ideas.

Picture: pumpkins and squash make good ingredients for winter soups

Ingredients

Squash and or courgettes

Onions or shallots

Celery stalk

Coriander seed

Herbs

Salt and pepper

Method

• Add a good glug of olive oil and a knob of butter to a deep pan - about a tablespoonful of each - and heat them until they melt together.
  
• Add a teaspoon or so of coriander seed and fry them for a few minutes until the aroma rises.
  
• Chop and gently sauté 2 large or several small onions or shallots.
  
• Chop several courgettes or summer squashes - a pound or two. Remove any seeds or rough skins and add the vegetables to the onion mix. 
• Stir everything fairly often and keep a lid on to prevent drying out.
  
• When everything is softening up and is reasonably cooked through, add enough water to cover the veg. You can add the seasoning now, too.
  
  
• Also add a good tablespoon of cream. If you prefer, add milk or soy milk instead - this is a lower fat option.
  
• Return the mixture to the heat and when everything is heated through add a small amount of finely chopped celery. (You can, of course, select a different vegetable to add contrast and flavour.)
  
• Add a few chopped herbs such as parsley, chives or tarragon. Mint also goes particularly well with summer squash.
  
• After a few minutes more take the pan off the heat and let the soup mixture cool for a minute.
  
• Use a food processor or mouli to liquidise the soup.
• Serve the soup with croutons fried in sesame oil or olive oil, or with crusty bread. A few shreds of Parmesan cheese are delicious grated on top.

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If you would like to add your own vegetable soup recipe please see Add Your Tips! on the nav bar. Thanks!

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The Vegetable Soup Recipe Page, Copyright Greenfootsteps.com 2008

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