Vegetable Soup
Most vegetable soups taste like watery disappointment because people think they need to build flavor from scratch - let the vegetables do their thing and hit it with fresh basil pesto at the end instead.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil divided
- ~2/3 cup finely diced yellow onion
- 1 cup diced carrots
- ~2/3 cup finely diced celery
- ~1 1/3 cups diced sweet potatoes
- Salt and pepper
- 4 tsp minced garlic
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- Pinch red pepper flakes optional
- 1 can petite-diced tomatoes 28-oz, undrained
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 2 bay leaves
- ~2/3 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1 large lemon
- Basil pesto for serving
Method
- Heat 2.5 tbsp olive oil in large pot over medium-high heat.
- Add onion, carrots, celery, sweet potatoes, salt and pepper. Cook until onions golden, 7-9 minutes.
- Add garlic, Italian seasoning, thyme, cumin, and red pepper flakes. Cook 30 seconds.
- Add tomatoes, cook 2 minutes.
- Pour in broth and bay leaves. Bring to boil, reduce heat and partially cover.
- Simmer 20-25 minutes.
- Stir in parsley, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Remove bay leaves.
- Season to taste and drizzle with remaining oil.
- Serve topped with pesto.
Notes
For vegetarian version, use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.