Italian Harvest Vegetable Soup

Submitted by Miss_Elaine

"As published in Delicious Living in March 2010. If my Grandmother had been Italian, she would have made this soup. It is as wholesome and delicious as it is beautiful. Prep tip: If you don’t have fresh spinach, you can use one 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 5mins
• Ingredients: 16
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 2 cups chopped celery (4-5 stalks)
• 2 large carrots, peeled
• 1 large sweet onion, such as Vidalia
• 2 tablespoons canola oil (or safflower oil)
• 4 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 1⁄2 red bell pepper, sliced into 1/2-inch strips
• 1⁄2 bell pepper, sliced into 1/2-inch strips
• 6 cups water
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup corn kernel (frozen and thawed, or fresh)
• 1 cup fennel bulb, chopped (or 1 teaspoon whole fennel seed)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 4 -5 ounces baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 small zucchini, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces

directions

1. Chop celery, carrots, and onion into 1/2-inch dice.
2. Heat oil on medium-high in a large, heavy-bottom stockpot. Add celery, carrots, and onion. Sauté until edges are golden brown, about 10 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to medium and add garlic and bell peppers. Stir frequently for 1–2 minutes, then add water, tomatoes, corn, fennel, oregano, thyme, and rosemary.
4. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 30–40 minutes. Add spinach and zucchini, simmer another 5 minutes, salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Reviews

[WiGal]

I have been "eyeing up" this recipe for quite a while and so glad that I have made and truly enjoyed-still smacking my lips. Delicious, attractive, versatile, and pretty much have ingredients on hand. I like fennel so worked with bulb and that particular taste in here is very subtle not overwhelming. I did put in quite a bit of salt guessing 1 teaspoon and know I put in 1/4 teaspoon pepper as we love black pepper. Not sure why the bell pepper in ingredient list is divided. Thank you Miss_Elaine for a wonderful lunch! Made for Spring PAC 2012.