Winter Vegetable Soup with Crispy Salami

It feels like yesterday it was summer, and today all of a sudden its turned really cold and wintery. Usually in the winter I reach for comforting stews and casseroles, but Im trying to be a bit healthy. The perfect compromise is a winter vegetable soup. Throw on a crispy salami garnish, and not so healthy, but a decent antidote to miserable November weather.

Ingredients – Makes 4 – 6 generous bowls

2 tablespoons of olive oil
Large red onion chopped
1 clove of garlic (minced)
2 carrots
1 small cauliflower
1 medium potato
1/2 savoy cabbage
100g puy lentils (cooked and drained – Approx 1 cup)
1.75ml / approx 3 pints of good chicken stock
Large squirt of tomato puree
Salt and pepper to taste
3 slices per person of salami

These are the vegetables I had in my fridge, but you cold easily substitute kale, broccoli, green beans – really whatever you have. This makes a fairly substantial pot of soup. In all when the vegetables re incorporated into the liquid, you end up with around 4 pints or so of thick soup. The number of servings will depend upon whether this is a single course with bread, or a starter.

Method

Chop and saute the onion and garlic, until soft before adding the carrots, and softening further. Add the tinned tomatoes and tomato puree, bringing to a simmer.

Add the chicken stock, and simmer further for 15-20 mins until carrots are soft. Slice the potatoes and break up the cauliflower into florets. Add both to the soup. Simmer for a further 20 mins, adding shredded cabbage around 5 mins before the end. I like soups to be fairly rustic with large ‘bits’. I use a potato masher to break down the lumps to be about the same size. Add the cooked puy lentils.

If you want it smooth, blitz in a food processor.

Season

I like to add a little bit of salt and pepper during cooking, but adjust the season after its cooked. It’s sometimes easier to see how much is needed after the soup has cooked and cooled.

Garnish with Crispy Salami

For the salami, heat in a pan until the visible white specks of fat have turned translucent, and the salami is crispy, before draining on kitchen paper. Serve in deep bowls with crusty bread or breadsticks, and the salami crumbled over the top.

Vegetarian

If you want a vegetarian version, obviously substitute chicken stock with vegetable stock, and serve with a hefty sprinkle of veggie parmesan in exchange for the salami. Winter Vegetable Soup with Crispy Salami