Description
Mumsy’s vegetable soup is a hearty and flavorful recipe featuring a medley of fresh vegetables simmered to tender perfection in a rich tomato-based broth. Topped with crunchy caraway seed croutons, this comforting soup combines simple ingredients like potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, and cabbage with aromatic herbs and a subtle sweetness, making it a perfect warming meal for any season.
Ingredients
Scale
Croutons
- 200g sourdough bread, cut into croutons
- 1 tbsp caraway seeds
- 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
- Sea salt, to taste
Soup
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 potato, chopped
- 600ml vegetable stock (bouillon)
- 100g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 400g can chopped tomatoes
- Pinch of golden caster sugar
- 1 bouquet garni (2 bay leaves, 1 rosemary sprig, 2 thyme sprigs tied together)
- 1 celery stick, chopped
- 200g cauliflower, cut into florets
- 150g white cabbage, shredded
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp mushroom ketchup
Instructions
- Prepare the croutons: Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Place the sourdough bread croutons on a baking tray, sprinkle with caraway seeds, half of the olive oil, and a pinch of sea salt. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the bread is golden and crisp. Set aside once done.
- Sauté the base vegetables: While the croutons are baking, heat the remaining olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped garlic, carrot, and potato, cooking for about 5 minutes while stirring frequently until they start to soften.
- Add liquids and aromatics: Pour in the vegetable stock, add the chopped cherry tomatoes, canned chopped tomatoes, a pinch of golden caster sugar, the bouquet garni, diced celery, and seasoning as desired. Bring everything to a rolling boil.
- Simmer the soup: Reduce the heat to low and let the soup simmer gently for 10 minutes.
- Add remaining vegetables: Stir in the cauliflower florets and shredded white cabbage. Continue cooking the soup for an additional 15 minutes or until all vegetables are tender.
- Finish with flavorings: Remove the bouquet garni from the soup. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and mushroom ketchup, adjusting seasoning if needed.
- Serve: Ladle the hot vegetable soup into bowls and top with the prepared caraway croutons for a satisfying crunch.
Notes
- The bouquet garni can be substituted with dried herbs if fresh are unavailable.
- For a vegan option, ensure Worcestershire sauce and mushroom ketchup are vegan-friendly or replace with soy sauce and a vegan mushroom seasoning.
- The croutons add texture, but you can omit them for a gluten-free version.
- Leftover soup can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Baking and Stovetop
- Cuisine: British
Keywords: vegetable soup, sourdough croutons, caraway seeds, vegetarian soup, easy soup recipe, comfort food
