Lemon Vegetable Soup

Most vegetable soups I've seen, and have even posted myself, are tomato pasted. I wanted something lighter, fresher, but just as packed full of flavor. This soup utilizes vegetables that aren't used every day. Honestly, it’s what I got in my share this week. But I've made this soup several times and I love it every time. You can also substitute with vegetables that you prefer, or add in additional ones you think would be nice. Sometimes I add kale or spinach, but I have a bunch of spinach soups in the freezer already, so I wanted something a little different.

If you are going to make this recipe and not freeze it, you can add in some diced potatoes, but if you are freezing it, leave them out. Potatoes turn grainy when frozen if they are cooked, and they turn black if they are frozen raw. So you will almost never see me post anything with potatoes in it. 

Cleaning leeks and fennel slices

To clean leeks can be a little bit tricky because the sand gets in every layer of the leeks, so here’s what I do. Get a bowl, much larger than you would need to hold the sliced leeks. Thinly slice them. Put them in the bowl and fill with water. Give a good stir with your hand and let sit for 2-3 minutes. Then stir again and let sit for another minute or two. All of the sand will fall to the bottom while all the leeks will stay floating at the top. Use a slotted spoon to get the leeks out. Use all of the white and green parts of the leeks in this soup.

Core the fennel on an angle 

To core your fennel bulb, quarter the bulb and cut the core out on a diagonal. Then thinly slice and add in the same bowl with the leeks to clean.

Lemon Vegetable Soup

3 Tbsp. olive oil

2-3 medium leeks thinly sliced

1 bulb of fennel (anise) thinly sliced, set the green tops aside

3-4 medium carrots, peeled and roughly cut

1 cup white wine

 Lima Beans and French horticultural beans

3 quarts (boxes) chicken stock

1 bay leaf

1 cup fresh lima beans (can use canned but not frozen)

1 cup French horticultural beans (can substitute green beans cut into 1 inch chunks)

2 lemons 

Salt and Pepper

Sauteed leeks carrots and fennel

In a large stock pot, or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil. Add in the leeks and fennel and cook until the leeks are bright green. Then add in the carrots and liberally sprinkle with salt and pepper. Once you begin to see some brown bits on the bottom of the pot, add in the wine and stir to get all those flavor bits up and cook for 1 minute. Then add in the chicken stock and stir well. Add in the beans and bay leaf. Now cut the lemons in half, squeeze out the juice and then throw the lemons into the pot. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 1 hour. Pull out the lemon. Add in a handful of the greens from the fennel chopped. Stir, taste, and adjust seasoning. If your using fresh beans, you will probably need to cook another 45 minutes so the beans cook through, but if you’re using canned your soup will be done. 

Serve with croutons or crackers

To freeze- Allow the soup to cool completely, pour into freezer proof container, cover the top with plastic wrap and then place the lid on. Freeze completely flat. Once frozen you can stack to store as you see fit.