Puréed Vegetable Soup with Homemade Broth

In a world of rising grocery prices, there is something incredibly satisfying about turning a throwaway item into a simple, comforting meal. If you’ve ever felt guilty for tossing out the skin and bones of your store-bought rotisserie chicken, you’ll simply adore this recipe that turns kitchen scraps into a velvety puréed vegetable soup. With its homemade simple broth, onion, celery, potatoes, and carrots, this budget-friendly soup is proof that you don’t need a long list of expensive ingredients to create something truly delicious. Finished with a hint of toasted fennel seeds and a bit of optional heavy whipping cream, this soup is elegant enough for a dinner party, yet effortless enough to be your new healthy weeknight go-to recipe.

B.O.B. Bob and I just recently returned from a trip to Belgium and Germany. Our original plan, over a year ago, was to join several friends in the Netherlands for a self-guided boat trip through the canals, followed by a trip to Bruges for a few days with certain members of the group, before moving on to Germany to celebrate our friend’s 50th birthday in their small town near the Moselle River. However, earlier this year, both B.O.B Bob and I decided that the trip would just be too much for us, especially when added to other planned vacations and the task of dealing with Dad’s estate. But then, about a week before our friends left for the trip, plans to join them became suddenly possible. After a bit of finagling and figuring out possible flights and hotels using miles, B.O.B. Bob and I suddenly, at the very last minute, found ourselves flying to the city of Brussels for several days, followed by a quick train ride to Ghent for one day of exploring. Next, we caught yet another quick train to Bruges to join our group of friends, as we had originally intended over a year ago. And yes, y’all, eventually, after a few very hot days in Bruges, seeking the tiniest bit of air conditioning in almost every single chocolate shop in the city, every single person in our group did, miraculously, manage to meet up with our friends in Germany for the big 50th birthday celebration, despite a possible train strike, a poisionous caterpillar outbeak, and most trains being either delayed or cancelled due to the extreme temperatures.

Y’all, for sure, we had an absolutely lovely, memory-making vacation with some of our very favorite people in the world. Despite the insanely high temperatures consistently above 105 degrees that followed both B.O.B. Bob and me through the entire trip, to every single location we visited, and even back home to Virginia. The weather was pretty freaking brutal, but the scenery was stunning. And, for sure, I would love to return one day, in a different season, when I won’t sweat out two times my body weight each and every single lil’ day of the trip. Especially if it means I get to once again enjoy a bowl of soup like this one, inspired by a cup of vegetable soup we received alongside a sandwich at a small cafe called “The Sister Brussels Cafe.” Our “Only You Focaccia Sandwiches” there came wrapped in green-and-white string, like wee packages of sandwichy deliciousness. And even though they were served alongside a fresh garden salad with the loveliest vinaigrette, it was the cup of homemade vegetable soup garnished with toasted fennel seeds that stole our hearts. After just one spoonful, I simply knew that it was a recipe I needed to experiment with. Basic ingredients, with such great flavor, but almost elegant and sophisticated at the same time. What more can you ask for in a soup? And you know it had to have been pretty dang good if we were eating warm soup, outdoors, on a hot-as-all-get-out 105-degree afternoon in Brussels.

Ingredients:

Homemade Broth:

• Skin & Bones of 1 Rotisserie Chicken
• 12 Cups Cold Water

Toasted Fennel Seeds:

• 1 Teaspoon Fennel Seeds

Soup:

• 2 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Large Sweet Yellow Onion, Peeled & Finely Diced
• 4 Celery Stalks, Finely Diced
• 2 Teaspoons Finely Ground Sea Salt
• 6 to 8 Cups Chicken Broth (See Suggestions)
• 2 Medium-Large Yukon Gold Potatoes, Peeled & Diced
• 6 Carrots, Peeled & Sliced
• 1 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
• 1 Teaspoon Fennel Seeds (Divided)
• 1/2 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream (Optional)

Directions:

Homemade Broth:

1. Place all of the skin and bones from a rotisserie chicken into a large stockpot.
2. Add 12 cups of cold water to the stockpot and bring to a rolling boil over high heat.
3. Once the mixture comes to a rolling boil, decrease the heat to medium and cook for 1 hour.
4. Once the mixture has cooled slightly, remove and discard the skin and bones and then strain the liquid.

Fennel Seeds:

1. Add the fennel seeds to a small dry skillet. Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Soup:

1. Place the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat.
2. When the oil is hot, sauté the onion and celery with the salt for 8 to 10 minutes, or until softened and translucent.
3. Add the broth, potatoes, carrots, black pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon of the toasted fennel seeds. Increase the heat to high and bring to a rolling boil.
4. When the soup comes to a rolling boil, reduce the heat to medium, cover with a lid, and cook for 30 minutes.
5. In small batches, purée the soup in a traditional blender or with a stick blender until smooth.
6. Pour the puréed soup back into the Dutch oven or stockpot, add the cream, and heat over low heat for 5 minutes.
7. Garnish each bowl of soup with a few of the remaining toasted fennel seeds.

Suggestions:

• I used the skin and bones of a large rotisserie chicken for this recipe. I cut the rotisserie chicken in half before removing the skin and bones. I used half of the chicken to make this Dill Pickle Shredded Rotisserie Chicken Salad and froze the remaining half of the chicken to make a different recipe later on.
•  You should end up with 6 to 8 cups of chicken broth. A little more or less broth won’t make a huge difference in this recipe. If you feel that the soup is too thick, you can always add 1 to 2 cups of water.
• Fennel seeds have a lovely flavor that will be brought out even more by toasting them. Don’t skip this step.
• If you buy an entire bunch of celery that contains celery leaves, replace one of the celery stalks with the finely chopped celery leaves. They have great flavor that you shouldn’t just throw away.
• The heavy whipping cream in this recipe is optional. It adds a touch of richness; however, if you want to make a healthier version of this soup, you can simply omit it from the recipe.
• This recipe will yield 5 to 6 bowls of soup.

Improvements:

• Replace the extra-virgin olive oil in this recipe with unsalted butter.
• Serve this soup with these Spicy Cheddar Krispies Crackers (Rice Krispies) or these Savory Fresh Parsley Layered Biscuits.
• Garnish the soup with dried lavender instead of toasted fennel seeds.
• CLICK HERE to see our many other soup, chili, stew, and chowder recipes.

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Yum

Puréed Vegetable Soup with Homemade Broth

Ingredients:

Homemade Broth:
• Skin & Bones of 1 Rotisserie Chicken
• 12 Cups Cold Water
Toasted Fennel Seeds:
• 1 Teaspoon Fennel Seeds
Soup:
• 2 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Large Sweet Yellow Onion, Peeled & Finely Diced
• 4 Celery Stalks, Finely Diced
• 2 Teaspoons Finely Ground Sea Salt
• 6 to 8 Cups Chicken Broth (See Suggestions)
• 2 Medium-Large Yukon Gold Potatoes, Peeled & Diced
• 6 Carrots, Peeled & Sliced
• 1 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
• 1 Teaspoon Fennel Seeds (Divided)
• 1/2 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream (Optional)

Directions:

Homemade Broth:
1. Place all of the skin and bones from a rotisserie chicken into a large stockpot.
2. Add 12 cups of cold water to the stockpot and bring to a rolling boil over high heat.
3. Once the mixture comes to a rolling boil, decrease the heat to medium and cook for 1 hour.
4. Once the mixture has cooled slightly, remove and discard the skin and bones and then strain the liquid.
Fennel Seeds:
5. Add the fennel seeds to a small dry skillet. Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Soup:
6. Place the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat.
7. When the oil is hot, sauté the onion and celery with the salt for 8 to 10 minutes, or until softened and translucent.
8. Add the broth, potatoes, carrots, black pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon of the toasted fennel seeds. Increase the heat to high and bring to a rolling boil.
9. When the soup comes to a rolling boil, reduce the heat to medium, cover with a lid, and cook for 30 minutes.
10. In small batches, purée the soup in a traditional blender or with a stick blender until smooth.
11. Pour the puréed soup back into the Dutch oven or stockpot, add the cream, and heat over low heat for 5 minutes.
12. Garnish each bowl of soup with a few of the remaining toasted fennel seeds.

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Dill Pickle Shredded Rotisserie Chicken Salad

Whether you’re meal prepping for the week or looking for a quick gourmet-feeling lunch or dinner, this recipe is proof that healthy eating doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated. Since it uses only half of a rotisserie chicken, leaving the other half for another recipe, along with the skin and bones to make homemade broth for a future soup, it’s basically three recipes for the price of one. This shredded rotisserie chicken salad is light, refreshing, and loaded with the tangy zip of dill pickles, along with lots of crunchy celery and just a hint of fresh dill. All while using a fraction of the mayo found in traditional chicken salad recipes. CLICK HERE for the recipe.

2

Puréed Vegetable Soup with Homemade Broth

In a world of rising grocery prices, there is something incredibly satisfying about turning a throwaway item into a simple, comforting meal. If you’ve ever felt guilty for tossing out the skin and bones of your store-bought rotisserie chicken, you’ll simply adore this recipe that turns kitchen scraps into a velvety puréed vegetable soup. With its homemade simple broth, onion, celery, potatoes, and carrots, this budget-friendly soup is proof that you don’t need a long list of expensive ingredients to create something truly delicious. Finished with a hint of toasted fennel seeds and a bit of optional heavy whipping cream, this soup is elegant enough for a dinner party, yet effortless enough to be your new healthy weeknight go-to recipe. CLICK HERE for the recipe.

3

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