Winter Vegetables...In a Soup!

I have become quite the little soup maker in the last few years! I used to stick to the basics and look for soup recipes and buy ingredients I would never use again...that sort of thing. Now I simply boil up the remains of a roast chicken, add a couple of Bay leaves, and some peppercorns, and VOILA...chicken broth just dying to be turned into delicious soup!

Vegetable soup...How Many Ways...Let Me Count Them...

My latest pot of vegetable soup turned out extra yummy...and I think it's because I did a couple of things differently, this time...

• I coarsely grated a carrot,a zucchini,and a sweet potato(Or yam...the orange one)
• I added canned corn
• I sliced the carrots on an angle,about 1/2 an inch thick
• I used a HUGE bunch of fresh Rainbow Chard

Here's the rough recipe. Please feel free to go crazy,and add or subtract something and leave me a comment!

Chicken Stock:
Throw in a large pot...
I chicken carcass, cooked, 2 large garlic cloves peeled,whole,2 Bay leaves,6 Telicherry Peppercorns(I swear they taste better than regular peppercorns)
Cover everything with cold water,and bring to a boil. Simmer for 45 minutes,and strain.

Soup:
12 oz can of niblets corn with 1/3 less salt
1/4 jar of mild salsa
1 small russet potato
1 zucchini
1 big bunch Rainbow chard leaves coarsely chopped, stems finely chopped
3 large carrots peeled and sliced 1/2 inch thick on the diagonal
salt and pepper and an herb of your choice. I used dried Oregano...about a tablespoon

Into the hot strained stock add: salsa,grated vegetables, chard stems, and carrots. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add the corn, the Chard leaves, and herb. Simmer for 5 more minutes. Turn off the heat, and after about 10 minutes taste and adjust seasonings. That's IT! DONE!!

This soup had an almost 'chowdery' texture from the grated vegetables. The corn and the sweet potato gave it a pleasing sweetness, but the salsa and the chard gave it a bit of a bite. If when you taste the soup, and have decided that it is seasoned well, but could use a bit of extra ZIP...Add a dash, maybe a tablespoon of red wine vinegar and taste again. This will allow you to get away with adding less salt, while adding MORE FLAVOUR!
The P-Man and I ate this soup all week for lunch, and it just kept getting better and better. I am going to definitely remember this combination of vegetables, as it seemed to make a satisfying and interesting soup. I am going to keep experimenting with grating other vegetables as well...because I personally like a thicker soup, rather than a 'brothy' one!

This soup is a winner! I hope you will try it!