Vegetable soup
Vegetable soup is a dish in which vegetables are the main ingredients, cooked in a liquid such as broth or tomato-based stock.
Vegetable stock: A savory cooking liquid made by simmering vegetables, herbs, and aromatics in water. It supplies a vegetable-based cooking liquid without making another ingredient the focus.
Minestrone: An Italian vegetable soup that commonly combines beans, seasonal vegetables, and pasta or rice. It is a named vegetable soup whose ingredients vary with region and season.
Sweating (cooking): A cooking technique that gently heats vegetables in fat to soften them without browning. Sweating aromatics before adding liquid develops flavor while keeping their color mild.
Vegetable stew: A dish of vegetables cooked in a relatively thick liquid, usually served with less broth than soup. Its thicker consistency marks a practical boundary with many vegetable soups.
Mirepoix: A mixture of diced onion, carrot, and celery used as an aromatic foundation in cooking. This classic aromatic base builds flavor before the soup’s other vegetables are added.
Ratatouille: A Provençal dish of stewed vegetables, commonly including eggplant, zucchini, tomato, pepper, and onion. It uses a similar vegetable combination but is typically served as a stew rather than a soup.
Simmering: A moist-heat cooking method that keeps liquid just below its boiling point. A gentle simmer cooks vegetables while limiting the agitation of a rolling boil.
Cream of vegetable soup: A smooth soup made with vegetables and enriched or thickened with cream or another creamy ingredient. Cream-based soups share the vegetable focus but use a defining enrichment absent from many versions.
Sofrito: A cooked mixture of aromatic ingredients, often including onion, garlic, and tomato, used as a flavor base. It offers a regional alternative to starting the soup with raw or simply sautéed vegetables.
Borscht: A family of soups associated with Eastern Europe, often made with beetroot and sometimes served hot or cold. Its beet-based versions show how one vegetable can define a soup’s flavor and color.