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
Yield: 3 litres (quarts)
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.
5 Responses
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!
Delish! I’m always looking for new recipes that are gluten free. Hubby is mostly vegetarian, so GF and vegetarian are super big hits here. This was great!
Thanks so much for letting me know! I am so glad you liked it.