Italian Vegetable Soup
As the summer turns into fall, and then fall into winter, soups can be so satisfying. This one is loaded with end of season vegetables and herbs, a warm reminder that summer will come again! Enjoy with garlic bread or crackers.
- 2 TB olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- 3 ribs of celery chopped
- 1 quart of tomatoes (peeled and chopped, with juice (or canned, diced tomatoes))
- 1 quart of beef broth
- 1-2 bay leaves
- 1-2 cups chopped carrots
- 1-2 cups chopped beans
- 1-2 cups chopped zucchini
- 1 lb ground beef (cooked and drained)
- 1 tsp salt
- freshly ground pepper (to taste)
- 1/4 cup more or less if desired of fresh, chopped herbs including basil, oregano, thyme, Italian parsley
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In a large soup pot, sauté onions, garlic, and celery in olive oil until fragrant and tender.
- Add broth, tomatoes and carrots. Simmer until carrots start to soften, then add remaining ingredients, except herbs, and simmer another 10 minutes.
- Add herbs for just the last few minutes. This soup is particularly good with the vegetables just tender, not completely soggy.
Tip1: If you don’t have fresh herbs, substitute dried herbs and reduce quantity to just 1/2 – 1 tsp of each. Add with broth to release the flavours.
Tip 2: To make this vegetarian, omit beef and substitute either tomato juice or vegetable broth for the beef broth. Reduce salt to 1/2 tsp.