An Honest Review
We tested Bettina Campolucci Bordi’s Garden Vegetable Soup recipe (p. 56 in her cookbook Happy Food ) so you don’t have to.
We love a hearty vegetable soup and this was an easy one. Dare we say too easy? So easy that we thought the flavours were bland. That TikTok meme ‘Where iz de flavour!? Where iz da SPICE?!’ kept running through our heads lol. There are no real herbs in this recipe to enhance the flavours of the veggies. It relies on the veggies being as fresh and organic as one can get, but for most of us that just isn’t possible.
Location Matters
For example, if you live in North America during the dormant veggie growing season, you will have to use frozen fresh produce which can be hit or miss. We see the intention of this soup recipe to be used as a base but the end result isn’t what one needs from a hearty soup recipe.
If you do end up making this recipe, add your own herbs and spices like dried oregano, thyme or marjoram. You don’t need to purchase this book to give you permission to make a bland soup.
✰✰ this one is a BYE for me. We got tripped up on the ‘glug of oil’ and put too much in. Plus the instruction were too vague.
Bettina Campolucci Bordi’s Garden Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- a good glug of olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
- 1 carrot, finely chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ red bell pepper, diced
- ¼ zucchini, courgette, diced
- 1 potato, diced
- 1 handful frozen or fresh peas
- 500 ml water, (17 oz / 2 cups)
- 1 handful chopped kale
- 1 teaspoon salt
- pinch black pepper to taste
To serve
- 1 teaspoon chopped dill
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- Super Bread, (see page 148) or good-quality shop-bought bread
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat and fry the onion, garlic and carrot until the onion is golden and the carrot is tender.
- Add the bay leaf and the rest of the vegetables, except the kale. Add the water and let the soup simmer for 20 minutes until the vegetables are soft but not mushy.
- Add seasoning to taste and stir in the chopped kale to wilt. Or add kale to the bottom of the serving bowls and ladle hot soup over it.
- Serve immediately with the chopped herbs scattered on the side and a side of home-made bread or just as it is. This is by far one of my favourite ways of eating as many veggies as possible in one sitting!
Notes
‘Another one-pot meal…I love this soup with dill and chopped parsley, but it is not always to everyone’s liking, so serve the herbs separately for people to scatter over if they like.’ – Bettina Campolucci Bordi p. 56 of Happy Food cookbook
Did you make this recipe?
Please let us know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @moody.eater on Instagram and hashtag it #moodyeater #moodyeatersclub .
