Summer Veggie Soup

I’ve said it before and I’m about to say it again….I love soup!  And I love it all year round because generally speaking, soup is easy to make, economical AND healthy. Plus it makes great leftovers!  What’s not to love about that all.year.long?

I’m really loving this summer veggie soup because as the name suggests, it’s full of veggies, which means it’s packed full of good nutrition. This soup is loaded up with fennel, asparagus, green beans, peas and tomatoes.  Then to make sure it’s hearty enough to be a main dish, I’ve added a good portion of cannellini beans.  It’s perfect for both lunch and dinner.  If you wanted to make this soup even heartier, you could certainly add some chicken or smoked sausage, which I’m sure would just further enhance the great flavor of this soup.

To make this flavor of this soup really sing, I added some lemon juice right at the end which really brightens all of the flavors.  Just make sure you wait to add the lemon juice until the very end.  I’ve found it simmers for too long with lemon juice the flavor can get bitter.

Summer Veggie Soup

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 small fennel bulb, halved and thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tbsp dried Italian seasoning
• 1 3/4 tsp salt, divided
• 1 tsp pepper, divided
• 1 cup fresh green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 12 oz asparagus, woody ends trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise (into half moons)
• 8 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 3 roma tomatoes, chopped
• 2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat.

Add onion and fennel, season with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper plus Italian seasoning.  Saute for 3 minutes.

Add garlic and saute for an additional 2 minutes.

Add green beans, asparagus and zucchini, season with another 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Saute for 3 minutes.

Stir in stock, tomatoes, beans, remaining 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.  Increase heat and bring mixture to a simmer.

Reduce heat to low and simmer just until veggies are tender, about 15 minutes.

Stir in lemon juice and basil.  Adjust seasoning if necessary.

Serve immediately.

ENJOY!