Spur-of-the-moment Vegetable Soup

Total Time: 1 hr 40 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (or a combination) or 2 tablespoons olive oil (or a combination)
• 1 lb carrot, trimmed, peeled, and thinly sliced
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped (spanish is recommended)
• 2 celery ribs, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 1 -2 garlic clove, split, germ removed, and thinly sliced
• 1 piece fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped (1-inch piece)
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• salt
• 6 cups chicken broth (plus more for thinning)
• 1 small potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• fresh ground pepper

Recipe

• 1 place a large dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat; add in butter and or oil.
• 2 when the butter is melted, or the oil is hot, toss in the carrots, onion, celery, garlic, ginger, rosemary, and thyme.
• 3 season with salt and decrease heat to low, and give the ingredients a couple of turns to coat them with butter or oil.
• 4 cover the pot and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring a few times, until the vegetables are very soft but not colored.
• 5 remove the lid, pour in the chicken broth, increase heat, and bring to a boil.
• 6 toss in the potato cubes and adjust the heat so that the soup is at a simmer.
• 7 partially cover the pot and let the soup simmer gently for another 20 minutes or until the potato can be mashed easily with a spoon.
• 8 you may serve the soup as is or puree it; remove the rosemary and thyme sprigs.
• 9 if serving as is, taste soup and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
• 10 or puree the soup in a blender or food processor, or use a food mill or immersion blender.
• 11 taste it for salt and pepper and reheat it before serving.
• 12 if you find the soup a little too thick for your taste, when you're reheating it, pour in enough additional chicken broth or water to get the texture you like.