Inspired by the book The Skinnygirl Dish by Bethenny Frankel, I decided to create a vegetable soup to eat before meals. This vegetable soup is the perfect appetizer to serve to company or Not only do I sneak more vegetables into my diet (yes, I am a five year old) but I love the idea of filling up on this hearty and delicious soup before sitting down to a meal as a way of portion and appetite control. The base of this soup is from the garlic, onion, carrot and celery – but feel free to substitute the other four vegetables to ones that you love. The key to this soup is to cut all vegetables to roughly the same size for even cooking and a smoother puree. Substitute vegetable broth for a purely vegetarian soup.
Pureed Vegetable Soup:
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 c onion, diced
1/2 c celery, diced
1/2 c carrot, diced
1 c sweet potato, diced
1 c broccoli, diced
1 c cauliflower, diced
1 c red pepper, diced
1 quart chicken broth
1/4 c parsley, loosely packed
Over medium heat, combine olive oil and butter in large sauce pan. Add garlic and saute until fragrant. Add onion, season with salt and pepper. Saute for 5 minutes. Add carrot and celery, saute another 5 minutes. Add remaining vegetables and chicken broth. Bring soup to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 40 minutes. Take soup off of the heat for 5 minutes to cool. Add parsley and blend soup (with traditional blender or immersion blender) and season to taste with salt and pepper.
I fell in love with a cookbook over Thanksgiving weekend. I picked up my aunt’s copy of The Silver Palate and didn’t put it down for the rest of the weekend. I had to take some recipes home with me and this was one of the recipes I copied. It is now my absolute favorite soup. It’s easy enough for a week night first course, but still gives you that comforting “been cooking all day” feeling. And it will make your house smell awesome! If I had this soup before every meal, I’d be a happy camper. I did substitute celery for parsnips, simply because I had celery in my fridge and no parsnips. I also used 2 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp of olive oil instead of the 4 tbsp of butter that the recipe calls for. That’s just my personal preference. Here is the recipe in the original form:
Beef and Red Wine Broth (Serves 6):
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 and 1/2c chopped yellow onions
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped
8 to 10 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
3/4 c chopped parsley
5 c beef stock (or combination beef and chicken stock)
1 c dry red wine
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup small pasta (I used orzo)
Grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese for garnish (optional, but highly recommended!)
Melt butter in large heavy pot over low heat. Add the onions, carrots, parsnip and chopped garlic. Cook, covered, until all vegetables are tender (approx. 25 min). Add chopped parsely, beef stock and wine. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce heat and let simmer (partially covered) for 20 minutes. Bring quart of salted water to a boil and add in pasta. Cook until pasta is tender. Drain pasta and reserve. Pour soup through a strainer and discard solids. Return broth to the soup pot, add cooked pasta and simmer (covered) for 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
I am happy to share my all time favorite Butternut Squash Soup recipe with you. My sister created this recipe one night while I was over for dinner and I think it is just delicious. The addition of sour cream or Greek yogurt at the end adds a delightful creaminess without a ton of fat. The best part of this recipe is that you’ll get a slightly different flavor each time depending on what type of apple you use in this recipe.
Heat olive oil in stock pot or Dutch oven. Add onions and saute until translucent. Peel and chop both squash and apples into 1 inch cubes, add to pot. Pour in enough chicken broth to just cover vegetables. Add brown sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and turn down to simmer until squash and apples are soft (approx. 30 mins). Take pan off the heat and let sit for three minutes. Puree soup using either a stick blender or conventional blender (blend in small batches!). Heat blended soup on low, add salt and pepper to taste. Whisk in butter and yogurt (or sour cream) to finish.
and didn’t put it down for the rest of the weekend. I had to take some recipes home with me and this was one of the recipes I copied. It is now my absolute favorite soup. It’s easy enough for a week night first course, but still gives you that comforting “been cooking all day” feeling. And it will make your house smell awesome! If I had this soup before every meal, I’d be a happy camper. I did substitute celery for parsnips, simply because I had celery in my fridge and no parsnips. I also used 2 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp of olive oil instead of the 4 tbsp of butter that the recipe calls for. That’s just my personal preference. Here is the recipe in the original form:
