Hearty Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 3 quarts of homemade chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 onion, peeled and diced
- 5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 leek, cleaned, halved, and cut into half-moons
- 5 carrots, peeled and diced
- 4 celery stalks, diced
- 1/2 C cauliflower florets, chopped
- 2 tomatoes, cored and diced
- 1/2 bunch kale, stalks removed, leaves torn into small pieces
- 1/4 bunch parsley, leaves removed
- 2 bay leaves
- Spinach
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Good olive oil
- Cooked short-grain brown rice (1/4 cup of rice per serving)
Instructions
In a large stock pot, heat 4 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, leek, cauliflower, and bay leaves. Stir to coat. Season generously with sea salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
As the vegetables begin to cook and soften, add the chopped tomatoes, parsley, and kale. Stir and cook for a couple more minutes just to soften. Slowly add the stock, at least enough to cover all the vegetables if not a bit more, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. Taste. Season with salt and pepper if necessary.
Just before serving, stir a handful of fresh spinach leaves into the soup. In each individual soup bowl, scoop 1/4 C cooked brown rice. Ladle the soup over the rice. Finish with freshly chopped parsley or dill and a drizzle of olive oil.