How to Make Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 cloves of fresh garlic, minced or pushed through a garlic press
8 cups vegetable or chicken broth (use vegetable to make this dish vegetarian/vegan)
2 yellow or red potatoes, unpeeled and cut into bite-sized pieces (about 3/4-inch square, doesn’t need to be exact)
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
2–4 cups of other vegetables of your choice, cut into bite-sized pieces (for example, in the soup you see pictured, I used 1/2 cup green beans, 2 cups broccoli florets, 1/2 cup frozen corn, 1/2 cup frozen peas)
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Juice from 1/2 fresh lemon
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Instructions
1. Using a large soup pot, put the pot on the stove over medium heat (which should be halfway on your stove’s knob. If your stove knobs are on a scale of 1 to 10, medium would be 5.). Add the olive oil. Heat oil for a few minutes, then add the chopped onions. Cook the onions over medium heat for 3-5 minutes.
2. Add the carrots and celery and cook for another 3-5 minutes.
3. Add the garlic, stir, and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add the vegetable or chicken broth. Raise heat to high and bring soup to a boil. Add the potatoes, then reduce heat to about medium, but maintain a simmer. Find the right heat level to make sure the soup keeps bubbling gently.
5. After about 5 minutes after adding the potatoes, add the rest of the vegetables. Simmer the soup for another 5 minutes or so, until all of the vegetables are cooked but not mushy.
6. Add the fresh parsley and the lemon juice. Sprinkle with black pepper, stir, taste and add more pepper and/or salt if needed.
7. Serve and enjoy!