How often do you find leftover vegetables in your fridge begging to be used before they grow legs?! In my soup adventures this week, I was tossed whether to make a soup with some of my frozen meatballs or leave it a plain vegetable soup. Once I decided to puree the soup, I went with a vegetarian style soup kicked up a notch with some chipotle in adobo sauce. The chipotle in adobo sauce gives the soup quite a kick (spicy), so you may want to start with 1/2 tsp of the chipotle first, taste, and keep going until it is hot enough. If you do not like spice, just omit entirely.
Change up whatever vegetables you want to add in, and make it completely vegetarian or vegan by using vegetable stock. If you do not like or have bok choy, leave it out. It really is an acquired taste, one I was introduced to in the 90’s by mom mom. She started making this Bok Choy Salad and to this day my entire family loves it. You’ll find bok choy errs on the bitter side and again it might be an acquired taste, but oh so good for you! It will add a little crunch and texture to the soup.
To roast veggies, toss two cups sliced veggies with a splash of sesame oil, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Place on parchment lined baking sheet and bake in 350 oven for 20 minutes or until starting to brown and soft.
- 2 cups roasted vegetables, chopped (carrots, cauliflower, celery, onion)
- 2 cups stock
- 1 tbsp chipotle in adobo sauce
- 1 tsp cumin
- ¼ cup bok choy, chopped
- salt and pepper
- Toss roasted vegetables into pot and place over medium heat on stove. Add in stock, cumin and bok choy. Bring soup to a boil and lower to simmer. Add in chipotles and a pinch of salt and pepper. Let simmer about 15 minutes to marry the flavours.
- Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.
- Using an immersion blender or food processor puree your soup. If using food processor puree in small batches. I added in a little extra stock to loosen it up a bit.
- Place back on stove to heat up to a light simmer.
- Pour into your bowl and serve with a sprinkle of bok choy salad, croutons, or even shaved Parmesan.
