Learning Objective
You will learn how to make a soup that is full of vegetables to increase the diversity of your diet and therefore your gut microbial diversity.
We sometimes call this a farmer’s soup because whenever possible we get our vegetables directly from the farmers that grew them.
One of the things we encourage as part of learning to make bread is connecting to the farmer and back to the soil, and developing an appreciation of where your food comes from. We all make choices every day about where to spend our money. Your energy is represented by the money that you earn and if you consider the impact of your energy, it becomes very clear that where you spend your money is where the impact of your energy is directed. By making that connection to the farmer who then connects to the soil, your day-to-day choices have a direct impact on the environment you live in.
Making sourdough central to your meal should be the catalyst for asking questions that lead you to direct action about all of the other foods you eat with that bread. In this way, choosing to bake sourdough means, whether you realise it or not, you have become a food activist. You’ve started to consider the impact of your food, and that’s something I see as an active, delicious disruption to the industrial food system. So, when you make this soup I would encourage you to connect to the vegetable growers in your area. There is then a wonderful invisible benefit because what you’re eating hasn’t been air-freighted around the world, You’re cutting down on food miles and as you nourish your gut microbes you’re also reducing carbon dioxide emissions. It’s about building relationships, understanding your food, investing in your local economy and, to me, everything about this soup feels right.
Prep: 15 mins. Cooking time: 45 mins.
Ingredients
- 2 large onions, red or white, peeled and finely chopped
- 20-30g olive oil
- 3 or 4 cloves of garlic, crushed with 1 clove reserved
- 3 or 4 large carrots, peeled and diced
- 3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced (although you can leave the skins on if you prefer)
- 250g of a seasonal vegetable, chopped – this could be cauliflower, courgette, peppers, aubergine, leeks… we tend to alter our choice according to what’s fresh and available
- a small handful of lemon thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1.5 litres hot vegetable stock
- 6 large tomatoes, diced
- 150g green beans, chopped into 1-inch (2.5cm) lengths
- a small cabbage, finely shredded (optional)
- sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
To finish:
- Parmesan cheese, grated
- Garden herb pesto
- Sourdough croutons
- Optionally you can also add 3 or 4 rashers of cooked and chopped thick, smoked bacon
Method
Sauté the onions over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until they are reduced and sweet. The secret to this recipe is to really cook the onions down so that the sugars are released. Add the carrots and potatoes, garlic (keeping one clove back), seasonal vegetable, thyme and bay leaf. Keep stirring on a low heat for another 5 minutes. Add the stock and tomatoes and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally to stop anything from catching on the bottom of the pan, for 15-20 minutes, until the potatoes and carrots are cooked. After about 18 minutes add the green beans, the final garlic clove, and the cabbage, if using. Turn the heat off, the soup will continue to cook.
Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. This soup is best served immediately if you want to keep a slightly crispy texture to the green beans and cabbage.
To finish the soup, we serve it with parmesan and a drizzle of pesto and maybe some croutons or bacon. For vegans, you can swap out the cheese and pesto and serve it with a little kimchi on top.
Variations
A soup like this is so versatile – you can swap the vegetables around. I modify it depending on what’s in season, that’s why I never get bored of it.
You can change the herbs too…rosemary works beautifully with the tomatoes. I often add a can of beans – which can be black beans, chickpeas, cannellini beans, or mixed beans. And in winter I add a couple of red chillies for extra heat. They go into the pan at the same time as the potatoes and carrots. Another lovely addition is a squeeze of lemon juice, just before serving.
Learning Outcome
You will understand how to put together a diversity soup and the importance of buying direct from farmers.