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Any Vegetable Soup
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- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 4tablespoons butter or olive oil
- 1large onion, 3 shallots or 2 leeks, white and light green parts only, chopped
- 2celery stalks, diced
- 3garlic cloves, chopped
- 3rosemary, thyme or sage sprigs (optional)
- 2bay leaves
- 3pounds mixed root vegetables (any combination of potato, sweet potato, turnip, rutabaga, parsnip, carrot, celery root, fennel bulbs), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 2quarts water or stock, more as needed
- Fine sea salt, to taste
- 1quart fresh greens (kale, spinach, mustard, Swiss chard), or 1 (10-ounce) package frozen greens, thawed
- Juice of ½ lemon, plus more to taste
- Red-pepper flakes or other chile flakes (optional)
- Grated Parmesan or pecorino (optional)
Preparation
- Step 1
Melt butter or heat oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high. Stir in onion and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic, herb sprigs, if using, and bay leaves; cook 1 minute more. Add root vegetables, water or stock and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender, 30 to 40 minutes.
- Step 2
Remove, and discard herb sprigs, if using, and bay leaves. Add greens and simmer until they are tender, 5 to 10 minutes.
- Step 3
Using an immersion or regular blender, purée soup until smooth. If the soup is too thick, add a little water. Season with lemon juice and more salt to taste.
- Step 4
To serve, ladle soup into bowls and top with a drizzle of olive oil, a few drops of lemon juice, flaky salt and red-pepper flakes or grated cheese, if desired.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
I always love Melissa's recipes, I save most of them. But when I make this sort of vegetable soup, I always partially roast the vegetables, and then I add the liquid to complete the cooking. In this way, the flavor is much more intense.
This is so needed right now, Ms. Clark. I haven't made it yet, but thank you for continuing to make so many awesome recipes (that I've been heavily relying on for the past 8 days), especially the vegetarian ones. Stay safe and healthy!
I made this today with parsnips, rutabaga and butternut squash; it came out quite delicious and sweet. I added a little curry to kick it up a bit. This is a good base recipe for the winter vegetables, and very nice for dunking a warm piece of crusty bread in.
This is very much akin to an all-vegetable soup my Tuscan nonna handed down. To improve its looks (and flavor, for some), use one part root and other veggies to one of carrots. And definitely more olive oil, and some flavorful tomatoes. I also like to leave it slightly chunky for more texture. Add small beans or chick peas for more robust winter soup. Here's the thing: her recipe called for some onion, but no sauteeing (and no garlic), so no heavy oily taste - just fresh, light, and nourishing!
Made as directed with potato, sweet potato, beets, and carrots plus homemade chicken stock. Quite good, but I would use more garlic next time. Served with a slices of toasted baguette... very satisfying! The bread made the meal since it added texture. Homemade croutons would also be a great addition.
This brings back memories of traveling in Ireland, where my husband and I made a joke of asking what the soup of the day was, because the answer was always 'vegetable' and every vegetable soup tasted completely different from the last -- different and delicious. Thank you for this, Melissa. We'll have it tonight in memory of those days, with the hope that we can all soon travel again.
This came out great! I used carrots and potatoes for the root vegetables and added a parmesan rind for flavor.
I might add some fennel and 1/2 of green cabbage and some tomatoes in juice with no salt and some tomato paste ( no salt). Don't worry folks this will be still be good.
EXACTLY the recipe we need right now: easy, healthy, inexpensive, flexible, and REALLY tasty. We roasted the root vegetables almost all the way, then let the flavors mix in a simmer for the last 10-15 minutes of Step 1. We used three sweet potatoes, three carrots, and two parsnips; spinach for the greens and thyme for the herb. Makes a ton and goes great with garlic bread. If you're not vegan, I recommend cooking the aromatics in butter. Could taste that richness in the finished soup.
Nice, thanks Melissa. I’ve done something similar as a wonderful freezer standby: roast any vegetables, herbs… freeze in 2 or 4 cup packs. Usually have frozen stock. Combine the two when required for fast snd hearty soups. Delicious and satisfying.
If you don't have potatoes and other starchy veggies try using brown rice or even oatmeal. It's healing and tasty.
A root missing from your list: Jerusalem artichoke. I make a mixed root vegetable soup with Jerusalem artichoke as the main base, adds a nice thickness and creamy texture when run through the blender after cooking. No need to peel the J.A., just scrub well, slice and boil up in the rest of the stock.
I love this recipe because it’s more of a guide than anything. I’ve made it a few weeks in a row now with whatever the farmers market or CSA throws at me. It’s a great way to hide and use up vegetables I’m not particularly fond of like squash and fennel. Serve it with some roasted squash seeds and nice sourdough and you’ll feel super fancy. Lovely to have a cup of something warm to share with friends now that we all have to be outside in the cold.
How does one measure "one quart of greens"? A loosely or tightly packed liquid measure? Don't mean to nitpick as I realize this is a loose-goosey recipe but just curious...
Great use of my CSA winter share… sweet potatoes, parsnips, carrots, beets and mustard greens, as well as leeks and celery. Beautiful color and flavor, with homemade chicken stock. Roasted vegetables first. Cooked leeks and celery in butter. Lemon juice nice complement to the natural sweetness.
i used what i had. stock, onions, garlic, bay leaves, spuds, carrots, spinach, corn-on-cob (put cobs in pot during the 40 minutes or so), leeks. I sauted the primary ve; onions, carrots, garlic, etc. Basically, JUST DO IT! still high from DNC convention!
Roast veggies first
That's what I made last night. Went through the fridge and roasted the whole lot for a while. Made veggy stock with some concentrate I had. Cook until done and get out the blender. season and taste as you go along Can't lose
This is my go to as a base. Then I add whatever else I’ve got hanging around. Ginger and chilis are always a great addition too.
Added a cup of orange/red lentils for more body and protein. Just the right thickness! Love that root vegetable taste.
Made this with turnip, parsnips, carrots, and Yukon Gold potatoes. Added spinach as the greens to finish. Used 1 quart chicken stock and 1 quart water. This is very tasty soup. I would prefer it to be a little creamier as mine turned out a little watery/thin. Will definitely make again and use less liquid.
I make this all winter. Recently I couldn't find butternut squash so I bought it frozen and dumped 4 bags into the pot with some onion, a bag of frozen beets, 5 carrots, and broth, added the spinach and cooked it down till I could puree it. Couldn't tell the diff.
What is a quart of fresh greens?
How much is a quart of the leafy greens?
I made this recipe with turkey stock from Thanksgiving, carrots, sweet potatoes, and parsnips. And it's delicious. My one issue is the kale - a quart? A search on the internet indicated a pound of kale is five to six stems. I used this as my guide and added two pounds of chopped kale to the soup, which is more kale than I've ever seen in my life. Too much?
This is a Wirecutter-type question, but I need a recc for an immersion blender. I have/had a Cuisinart immersion blender but it seems to be dying. Everyone seems to LOVE immersion blenders... But me. So maybe I just need a new one?
I used 3 parsnips, a celery root, 2 potatoes and a large carrot - what I had on hand. Added a cup of farro with the broth step. No greens around so added frozen peas at the end and they were great! Also about a tablespoon of white miso with the lemon and a half teaspoon of chili flakes. Yummy!
I have some bok choy I need to use up. How could I incorporate that?
Made this with celery, carrots, potato, and spinach. After blending, flavor was good, but needed to be a bit heartier. Added a can of cannellini beans and blended them in, perfect consistency!
This reminds me of traveling around Ireland in the late 90s. Whenever we'd go to a restaurant, the soup of the day was always vegetable, and it was always completely different--even from night-to-night at the same restaurant. So good and and brings back happy memories!
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