At the end of this rainbow lies a pot of soup! This gorgeous vegetable soup will flood your senses with vibrant natural colors and deliciously fresh flavors. It’ll also nourish your body through diversity of root, stem, leaf, flower and fruit, and help protect your cells with a broad-spectrum influx of antioxidants and other phytonutrients. I even snuck in a cruciferous vegetable to help the liver detoxify the body from daily adventures through urban landscapes and just plain old living.
This recipe makes a very large pot of soup. I kept the numbers even or whole so that you could easily divide the recipe in half if you wanted to make a smaller volume. I like to make a big pot and freeze some for a rainy day. You can also add some cooked lentils to your soup bowl to make it a heartier meal. [Another thing to consider is that if you do not like a particular vegetable, such as yellow bell pepper, substitute in another yellow vegetable such as squash or corn in order to keep the benefit of that particular color vegetable’s antioxidant profile.]
Rainbow Soup
Ingredients:
1 medium onion, diced
4 stalks celery, sliced
1 large yellow bell pepper, diced
1 medium zucchini, diced
2 cups Peruvian [purple] potatoes, diced
4 medium carrots, sliced
2 cups cauliflower florets, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups chopped cabbage [Kale would work really well as a substitute]
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1-28 oz can whole plum tomatoes, broken into pieces by hand with juice reserved
12 cups vegetable stock [I prefer Kitchen Basics unsalted vegetable stock]
1 T olive oil
Fresh herbs for garnish [Parsley, oregano and basil are my favorites]
Directions:
Place a stockpot on the stove and turn the heat to medium. Once hot, add the olive oil. Add the onion, celery and garlic. Sauté until softened. Add the carrots, bell pepper, potatoes. Cook with periodic stirring for about 10 minutes. Add in the cauliflower and zucchini. Add the tomatoes with their juice and the stock. Bring to a low simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender. This should take about 30 minutes. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper. Garnish with fresh herbs, if you wish.
Soundly Vegan 