Scottish Summer Vegetable Soup
Scottish Summer Vegetable Soup is perfect for those cooler days of summer when you crave a little comfort food. It’s the summer equivalent of my Scotch Broth recipe but this time packed full of summer vegetables and herbs.
Why eat soup in summer?
Soup is a light but filling meal, it is low in calories and fat and there is evidence that eating a bowl of soup before a main course reduces the amount of food you eat.
Scottish Summer Vegetable Soup is also a great way to use a random selection of vegetables leftover from other recipes. If the weather is too warm, freeze the soup for another day.
What vegetables can I include in Scottish Summer Vegetable Soup?
Most vegetables are good to use in soup. Start with a base of onion and carrot, then add what you have in your fridge or garden. Here are some examples:
- celery
- fennel
- courgettes
- potatoes
- broccoli
- spinach
- runner beans
- peas
- broad beans
- turnips
- tomatoes
What herbs can I add to the soup?
I use fresh thyme and a little fresh rosemary to bring out the flavours of the vegetables. Use any fresh herbs you like, the following are worth trying but only if you like them:
- Parsley
- Chives
- Basil
- Oregano
- Marjoram
- Tarragon (use very sparingly)
- Sage
What kind of beans can I use?
I use dried cannellini beans soaked overnight, but you can use any dried soaked beans. Use canned beans for convenience and add them near the end of the cooking time. Here are some of the beans you can use:
- Haricot beans
- Flageolet beans
- Butter Beans
- Chickpeas (Garbanzo beans)
- Borlotti Beans
- Pinto Beans
- Kidney Beans
- Pinto Beans
What kind of stock can I use in the soup?
I use vegetable stock, however, if you want you can use chicken stock or ham stock. Use freshly made stock, powdered boullion, or stock cubes and make up as per the instruction on the packet.
More Summer Soup Recipes
Lettuce Soup is a fresh and light vegetable soup with a sweet and delicate flavour. This creamy blended soup is the perfect way to use excess lettuce and turn it into a surprising soup that will impress your family and friends.
Courgette Tomato and Basil Soup is a delicious blended soup that makes the best of summer courgettes (zucchini) and tomatoes. It’s perfect to serve on rainy summer days or freeze for when you crave a warming bowl full of summer flavours.
Slow Cooker French Onion Soup is a simple soup of caramelised onions with a rich beef stock. It is easy to make in the slow cooker and the ingredients are inexpensive and freely available.
More Summer Soup Recipes
- Pea and Watercress Soup – Recipes Made Easy
- Chunky Gazpacho (Chilled Tomato Soup) – Christina’s Cucina
Scottish Summer Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 1 (1) onion peeled and chopped
- 4 (4) stalks of celery finely chopped
- 3 (3) carrots peeled and chopped
- 2 (2) potatoes diced
- 1/4 (0.25) fennel bulb chopped
- bunch of thyme rosemary and marjoram tied together
- 2 (2) courgettes diced
- 1/3 (0.3) head of broccoli chopped
- 4 (4) tomatoes seeds removed and chopped
- 100 grams (4 oz) cannellini beans soaked and cooked for 20 minutes until just tender ( or 200g canned cannellini beans)
- 3 (3) litres vegetable stock
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) olive oil
Instructions
- .Heat the olive oil in a pan. Add the onion and celery and cook for 2 minutes, add the carrots, fennel, and potatoes, cook for another minute.
- Add the stock and herbs, season well and cook until the carrot is soft (20-30 minutes)
- Add the chopped courgettes, broccoli, tomatoes and cannellini beans and cook for a further 10 minutes.
- Remove the herb bundle and adjust seasoning.
Notes
Nutrition
one day I'll try baking bread again…till then I'll just look on in envy! Looks like a really good soup too
It's definitely soup weather again! This looks healthy and delicious 🙂
love it… I think the fact that you've kept it as a broth rather than blending it all up gives it a more summery feel… lovely for this amazing summer we're having!… nice bread too honey pie x
I LIKE broth as opposed to heavy soups in summer Janice and this looks just fabulous! And, I could just dunk a wedge of that bread into the soup too! LOVELY entry into Herbs on Saturday thanks! Karen
This soup looks so good – really fresh and light. And I've got to give the bread a try too!
Great idea and so wonderfully versatile recipe, Janice! Almost like a Scottish version of minestrone 🙂 Thanks for including my gazpacho recipe!
Thanks, Christina. I suppose it is, soup is so adaptable and I love all of it!
Looks lovely, sometimes a lighter fresh soup is great on a slightly chillier summer evening ?
Thanks, Chloe. That’s exactly it, summer isn’t always that warm!
I do love soup of any kind. Growing up my mum only ever made one type of soup and everything else came from a tin. It’s probably why now I love it so much. And uses up leftover pieces of vegetables so always help keep down food waste. Thanks for linking up to #CookBlogShare. Michelle
Thanks, Michelle. I was lucky that my Mum made nearly all her own soup although we did have canned tomato soup and we loved it!
What a lovely fresh looking soup. It sounds like a great idea to use up vegetables you’ve got left in the fridge as well as being tasty.
Thank you. it certainly is!
I LOVE summer soups as much as winter soups Janice, and this looks absolutely delicious. Karen
Thanks, Karen. Yes, soup is definitely still on the menu in summer.
What a great idea! I am definitely in agreement that soup is just as great in the summer as it is in winter… but then I love almost all winter food in the summer too – I think maybe it’s because my mum has always been very much a ‘winter food is not allowed in summer’ person – and consequently I spent many months as a child pining for my winter favourites… either that or maybe it’s because I’m a naturally chilly person and so need warming up even in the summer!
Ah yes, I’m always cold too, maybe that’s why soup is always on the menu 🙂