Summer Vegetable Soup
with spinach and pear salad
We love a late summer soup that's packed with fresh produce. This one gets added texture from a topping of crispy bacon. Spinach and pear adds color and a bit of sweet flavor on the side.
Tags
Proteins
Cuisines
Ingredients
Basil Pesto:
- Pine nuts (sub walnuts or pecans) - 1 1/2 Tbsp
- Garlic - 1 clove , peeled
- Basil, fresh - 2 oz , leaves torn
- Lemon juice - 1 tsp
- Oil, olive - 3 Tbsp
Summer Vegetable Soup:
- Onions, medium - 1/2 , chopped
- Celery - 1 rib , diced
- Squash, yellow (sub zucchini or use a combination) - 1 , diced
- Cauliflower florets - 2 cups , chopped
- Garlic - 2 cloves , chopped
- Bacon - 4 strips , chopped
- Tomatoes, medium - 1 , diced
- Butter - 2 Tbsp
- Stock, any type - 3 cups
- Lemon zest - 1/2 tsp
- Pesto (ingredients listed separately) - ~1/4 cup
Spinach and Pear Salad:
- Pears - 1 , sliced
- Vinegar, red or white wine - 1 Tbsp
- Mustard, Dijon - 2 tsp
- Honey - 2 tsp
- Oil, olive - 3 Tbsp
- Spinach, baby - 5 oz
Prep
- Make pesto - (Skip this step if pesto was already made for Monday.) Toast nuts in a dry skillet or frying pan until fragrant and golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Peel garlic cloves. Place nuts, garlic, basil leaves and lemon juice into a food processor. Pulse until all ingredients are well chopped. With food processor running, drizzle in olive oil (for the pesto) until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Onions / Celery / Squash / Cauliflower / Garlic / Bacon - Prep as directed. Combine onions, celery and squash in one container. Store cauliflower, garlic and bacon in separate containers. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Tomatoes - Dice tomatoes. (Can be done up to 2 days ahead)
- Pears - Slice pears.
Make
- Heat a >5 quart (4.73 liters) Dutch oven over medium heat. Add bacon and saute until bacon is crisp, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper-towel lined plate. Drain excess oil and return pan to heat.
- Add butter to heated pan and then onions, celery and squash. Add a pinch of salt and saute until vegetables begin to soften, ~3 minutes.
- Add garlic and saute until fragrant, ~1 minute.
- Pour stock, cauliflower and tomatoes over vegetables. Bring to a simmer. Simmer until cauliflower is tender, ~5 minutes.
- While soup simmers, whisk together vinegar, mustard, honey and olive oil (for the salad). Toss with pears and spinach.
- When soup is finished, add lemon zest and season with some salt and pepper.
- Ladle soup into individual bowls. Stir pesto into bowls at the table and top with bacon. Serve with salad on the side and enjoy!
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