Sweet and Sour Vegetable Soup


April 13, 2013

Dear Diary.  It's still snowing.  I'm starting to think that spring might not come at all.  Maybe that one nice day we had a few weeks back when a few blades of grass pushed their way through the snowy blanket was the sum of our spring.  And summer.  And now it's winter again.  Did I forget to tell the weatherman that this is our first northern winter after 14 years of Southern Heat?  Oh. OK. I get it.  This is just a lesson in being careful what you wish for. I'll stop complaining. Instead, I'll make soup!


This Sweet and Sour Vegetable Soup is my all time favorite figure friendly soup. It's loaded with veggies but is hearty enough to sustain you. It starts with your basic mirepoix (Pronounced meer-PWAH'), a combination of onions, carrots and celery which are sauteed as a flavor base for the soup.  


Next, add in chicken stock, fire-roasted tomatoes, chopped cabbage, dried basil and oregano. Simmer until the veggies have softened.


Remove a couple cups of stock at a time and blend.  Return to pan.  Do this a couple of times making sure you leave plenty of chunks! Add Brown Sugar, Balsamic Vinegar and Salt and adjust seasoning to taste.


A hearty soup that is perfect for a winter  spring day!


Sweet and Sour Vegetable Soup
By Rachel @ Simple Girl

Ingredients:

2 cups carrots, peeled and diced
2 cups celery, diced
2 cups onions, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 quart chicken stock
2 15-ounce cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1/2 head of cabbage, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1-2 teaspoons kosher salt, to taste

In a large stock pot, saute carrots, celery and onion in olive oil until softened.  Add chicken stock, tomatoes, cabbage, basil and oregano and continue to cook until cabbage is soft, about 20 minutes.  

Blend  2 cups of soup at a time in a blender.  Repeat, each time returning the blended soup to the pot.  Repeat until desired consistency is achieved, making sure to leave plenty of chunks!

Add vinegar, brown sugar and salt, to taste.

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