Garden Vegetable Soup.....it needs flavor, ideas?!

mill1295

I second the Better than bullion!! I add it to rice.. soups.. everything.. They have a veggie one if you're going for vegetarian.

joy5877

I like to add Hot & spicy V-8 juice to my veg. soups.

V8 or tomato juice usually helps.

ModoVincere

I would add some chicken, beef, or even sausage to the soup. It would raise the calorie count, but provide some needed protein and fat along with some flavor.

marsellient

I agree with other posters...sauté the vegetables before adding the liquid, add some tomatoes and tons more fresh herbs (or not quite tons of dried ones ) Another suggestion is to put it all in the slow cooker and let it go all day. I find that lets the flavours in soup develop nicely.

RadioactivePirate

I agree with the person who said better than boullion. I use this for a soup base in everything I make, it has a much better flavor than plain chicken broth and it's generally cheaper.

I would also suggest this - add a few parmesan rinds to the soup while it simmers. You take them out afterwards (they are really gross and soggy) but it really packs a punch flavor-wise. I always do this for minestrone. My grocery store usually has them with the italian cheeses, but if you have a cheese counter at your local grocer you can probably get them, it's not as obscure as it sounds. Not really sure how many calories it adds because you're taking the rinds out of the soup after it's cooked, but I doubt it's that many.

khand58

You need to boost the umami, or savory flavor of the soup. You can do this by adding 1/8 oz (about 2 tsp) of dried, ground Porcini mushrooms. They are usually sold in bags hanging in the produce section and are easily ground in your spice grinder or mini food processor. When you add the mushrooms you may also be able to decrease the soy sauce to 2 tsp since it is also a umami.

lalapurple62

5 or 6 stalks of finely chopped celery sauteed with the onions then add cummin coriander and smoky paprika, if you are going to add some chicken i love fennel seeds as well, i tend to go to the spice drawer and keep adding until i like the end result, and its always better the next day

Kalliejc

half a jar of extra hot picante

This. Maybe not extra hot though.

Hezzietiger1

jalepenos

monicalosesweight

If you get potato flour (Health Food Stores carry the Mills brand), you can put a few teaspoons of dehydrated potato into your soup to thicken it.

Monica

ZoeyRobinson

Smoked paprika or filet powder would make it yummy.

Angylgrrl

If I were making it, I wold try toasting the spices (any seeds, pepper, etc.) and roasting the veggies (except maybe the spinach) before adding to the soup.

And if you're using corn on a cob, add the cob to the stock and remove before serving. You'll get a much stronger corn flavor that way.

ndblades

Make vegetable broth the day before (celery, onion, carrots, spices), then strain it all and refrigerate the broth 24 hours if you made a beef broth, you'll have a layer of fat you can scrap off - healthier yet!

For the soup - try adding the following:

ROSEMARY! Love this spice. Use that in both the broth and the soup
Bay Leaf
Parsely
Peppercorns (broth)
ground pepper (soup)
Routebegga - an awesome vegetable in soup. turnips are good too, but I like them in the chicken soups better.

Hope that helps!

SARgirl

Red pepper flakes?