You CAN make a delicious soup once you understand the basics.
Making vegetable soup is a great way to perfect your soup skills. This recipe shows you just how simple soup can be.
There are three keys to making a delicious vegetable soup.
1. Use fresh, flavorful ingredients
2. Taste as you go
3. Focus on the broth
When you are making a vegetable soup the veggies are the star. That means you want to use delicious tasting vegetables. A combination of multiple kinds of vegetables will give you a breadth of natural flavors that infuse the broth and meld together nicely. You also don't want to overcook your soup. A flavorful soup does not need to cook for hours on your stove. This is actually a quick soup to make.
As you layer the ingredients into your soup you will want to taste your progress after each step. This will help you to know whether you need to enhance the flavor in any way. This recipe relies on salt, pepper, and some Italian seasoning to enhance the natural flavors of the vegetables. With good vegetables, you won't need anything else.
The broth is the foundation of your soup. Through trial and error, work to find the best chicken stock available to you locally. I like to use homemade chicken stock whenever I have it on hand but I do rely on store-bought stock. Choose stock over broth. It will have more flavor. A good tasting stock will be enhanced by vegetables, herbs, and spices you use in the soup. If you think your broth lacks flavor, try adding Better Than Bouillon, a teaspoon at a time until it tastes good.
Easy Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 2 large carrots, chopped
- 3 stalks of celery, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1/2 jalapeno pepper, minced
- 4 large cloves of garlic, smashed
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 handful Italian seasoning
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 4 cups mixed frozen vegetables
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- Better than Bouillon Chicken flavor or vegetable flavor, optional (1 tsp. as needed)
- 1 cup elbow macaroni
- Grated Parmesan cheese, optional
Directions
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add the carrots, celery, onion, jalapeno, and garlic. Sprinkle on the salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Cook these aromatic vegetables until they are soft, about 5-8 minutes.
Add a handful of Italian seasoning and the chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a boil. Taste the broth and adjust the seasoning as needed.
Add the frozen vegetables and broccoli. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer. Cook for about 8 minutes. Taste again.
Add the macaroni and cook until the pasta is tender, about 10 minutes. Serve with a sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese.
Enjoy!