Veggie Soup For Your Soul

It's that time of year in South Texas.  Mountain cedar hit us full force last week, and that means every member of my little family has been suffering.  Just when it seems like everyone is getting better, I've woken up the past two mornings with absolutely no voice.  None.  *Sigh*

When I'm feeling a bit under the weather, the only thing to soothe my spirits is soup.  Alright, alright, soup and chocolate.  But for today we'll just focus on soup.  I absolutely adore homemade chicken noodle soup.  But with all of us feeling not so hot and no chicken or egg noodles in the house, my favorite chicken soup recipe became veggie soup with rice.



Ingredients:

• 1 yellow onion, diced


• 1 large parsnip, diced


• 3-4 medium carrots, diced


• 2 cloves garlic, minced


• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil + extra for vinaigrette


• kosher salt


• fresh ground pepper


• 1 quart vegetable stock


• 1 cup of rice (I used basmati) + 2 cups water


• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (or vinegar whatever you like)


• 1 heaping tablespoon dijon mustard

I start just about every soup I make by sauteing veggies.  In this case I used what I had on hand...onion, carrots, parsnips, celery, and garlic.  Dice all your veggies roughly the same size and cook over medium-high heat in about 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.  Season with a generous pinch of kosher salt.

For whatever reason, I cannot under any circumstance cook rice on the stove.  This frustrates me to no end...so I cheat.  I use a rice cooker.  To each his own.  While the veggies are sauteing away, start your rice in another pot.  Or, you know, in a rice cooker.

When you're veggies are lightly browned and nice and soft add 1 quart of vegetable stock and cover your pot with the lid.

When your rice is done add it to the stock pot.  Recover with lid and bring to a boil.  Once you've reached a boil, reduce heat to simmer.  Check seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.

Now we get a little fancy.  There's nothing like feeling under the weather to kill your appetite.  Food just doesn't taste as good...flavors aren't as strong.  To remedy this, I followed Shauna Niequist's example from her latest book Break and Wine (LOVE!) and made a quick Dijon and Balsamic Vinaigrette to drizzle on top of our bowls of soup.



Oh. My. Word. Y'all.  It didn't disappoint.

I eyeballed 1 part vinegar to 2 parts oil (about 1/4 cup vinegar and 1/2 cup oil I'd say), added a generous spoonful of dijon mustard, and a pinch of salt and pepper to an old jelly jar and shook until it was well blended.



Here is the soup all steamy and hot with a drizzle of vinaigrette on top.  The soup is fabulous on its own and is what I fed our sweet baby girl for dinner.  Everyone else got the gussied up vinaigrette version.  It's a great meal on its own, but it's especially fabulous served with this bread.  Enjoy!