This is the third post of the soups I made for a bonspiel at our curling club.
I have friends who are vegetarians and others who are on a gluten free diet. Of course, I had to make a soup for them!
From my experience, vegetarian soups are often a thin vegetable broth with a few vegetables floating around in it. I couldn’t see any reason it couldn’t be rich, hearty and full of flavour.
I started by making a simple vegetable broth. I put the following into a slow cooker:
- 1/2 onion cut into chunks (no need to peel it).
- 6 cloves garlic cut in half
- 2 stalks celery including the leaves
- 5 ml (1 teaspoon) dried thyme
- 5 ml (1 teaspoon) dried rosemary
- 3 ml (1/2 teaspoon) dried oregano
I just covered them with water and cooked on low for 18 hours.
I strained the broth off the vegetables and discarded the vegetables.
I find that sautéing mushrooms and onions gives a nice meaty flavour so I heated 15 ml (1 tablespoon) of oil and sautéed 1/2 of a large onion, diced for about 5 minutes, just until getting a bit of colour. Then I added 500 ml (2 cups) of chopped mushrooms. I sautéed for another 3 or 4 minutes until a nice golden fond formed on the bottom of the pot.
I added the vegetable broth and:
- two 796 ml (27 ounce) cans of diced tomatoes including the liquid
- one 156 ml (5.25 ounce) can tomato paste
- 5 ml (1 teaspoon) dried thyme
- 5 ml (1 teaspoon) dried rosemary
- 5 ml (1 teaspoon) oregano
- 3 ml (1/2 teaspoon) curry powder
- 250 ml (1 cup) uncooked rice
- enough water to make up 3 litres (3 quarts)
I brought it to a boil and reduce to simmer. I cooked until the rice was tender, about 30 minutes.
I put the soup in the slow cooker to keep warm for serving.
The Verdict
This was a big hit and I was surprised how many people chose it. The rice gives it a hearty rich texture. The tomatoes have a bright taste and the broth was rich enough to come through. Even us meat eaters would like this soup!
The Old Fat Guy
Ingredients
- 1/2 large onion, cut in chunks
- 6 cloves garlic cut in half
- 2 stalks celery including leaves
- 5 ml (1 tsp) dried thyme
- 5 ml (1 tsp) dried rosemary
- 3 ml (1/2 tsp) dried oregano
- 15 ml (1 tbsp) vegetable oil
- 1/2 large onion diced
- 500 ml (2 cups) mushrooms, chopped
- 1596 ml (54 ounces) canned diced tomatoes, including liquid
- 156 ml (5 1/4 ounce) tomato paste
- 5 ml (1 tsp) dried thyme
- 5 ml (1 tsp) dried rosemary
- 5 ml (1 tsp) dried oregano
- 20 ml (4 tsp) honey
- 3 ml (1/2 tsp) curry powder
- 250 ml (1 cup) uncooked rice
Instructions
- Put onions, garlic, celery, thyme, rosemary and oregano in a slow cooker.
- Put just enough water to cover the vegetables in the slow cooker.
- Cook on low for 18 hours.
- Strain the broth off the vegetables and discard the vegetables.
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté the onion for about 5 minutes, just until starting to colour.
- Add the mushrooms and sauté until a golden fond forms on the bottom of the pot, about 4 minutes.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and enough water to make 3 litres (quarts).
- Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer.
- Cook until the rice is tender, about 30 minutes.

Now this is a vegetarian soup that I would gladly have a bowl of!
I enjoyed it too!
Yum. Bring on a side of grilled cheese!