Is there any recipe more versatile and adaptable than vegetable soup? So much so that it’s hardly a recipe really. You really can use any combination of vegetables you like; whatever is sitting in your fridge, so it’s a great way to use up leftover vegetables. You can add herbs if you like; or not – it really is up to you.
The basic principle is:
1. Sauté chopped vegetables in olive oil or butter for a few minutes to soften and colour them slightly
2. Add stock, seasoning and any herbs you want to use
3. Bring to the boil and simmer until the vegetables are cooked through
4. Blend to a puree if you want a smooth soup, otherwise leave the vegetables chunky
5. Taste to check the seasoning
6. Serve
For the blending I use a hand blender directly in the saucepan but if you don’t have one you could just use a liquidiser.
The quality of the stock will make a big difference to the taste of your soup. Homemade chicken or vegetable stock would be the optimum but more often than not I use vegetable bullion powder.
For another variation you can roast the vegetables first, and roasted vegetable soup really is delicious.
Vegetable soup is great to make in advance and good for freezing too, so make up a big batch to save yourself time later.
