Autumn veggie soup with pesto and cheese toast

Well…it’s autumn now, isn’t it?  And that means soup.  Lots and lots of hearty vegetable-filled soups.

This soup is chock full of healthy veggies that won’t leave you missing any meat.  Add a tasty pesto-Gruyere toast and you’ve got yourself a five-star dinner.

I used veggies that I had on hand.  You could add other veggies like sweet potatoes or winter squash, different leafy greens (kale or shredded spinach would be nice), celery, leeks, fennel, parsnips, turnips or rutabaga.  Add more herbs if you want–rosemary, thyme, marjoram or parsley.  It’s kind of one of those whatever-you-need-to-use-up kind of soups.  It is very similar to minestrone soup.  Actually, this basically is minestrone without the pasta.  But you could add that in too, if you want.

Whatever you do, make sure you make enough because you’ll be coming back for seconds and thirds.  Especially for the pesto-Gruyere toasts.  (Come to think of it, you might want to double that part of the recipe.)

Autumn Vegetable Soup with Pesto-Gruyere Toasts

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 5-6 large ripe plum tomatoes, diced
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 small zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and sliced
• 2 cups cooked or canned white beans
• 2-3 large chard leaves, ribs removed and leaves cut into strips
• water or chicken broth
• 6 slices of artisan bread
• 1/4 cup pesto, divided
• 2 oz. or more Gruyere, sliced

Instructions:
Heat a little olive oil in a 3-4 quart pot.  Add the onions and cook until they start to soften.  Add the carrots and garlic.  Continue cooking for a few more minutes then add the diced tomatoes.  Cover with water–maybe 6-8 cups.  Cook until carrots are almost tender.  Add the zucchini and simmer until it’s almost cooked through.  Add the beans and chard, simmer for another 10-15 minutes.  Taste and add salt and pepper and pesto, if using.  Serve hot with pesto-Gruyere toasts.

To make the toasts, preheat oven broiler to low.  Spread a little pesto on the bread slices and top with the grated Gruyere.  Broil until cheese melts and turns golden.  Remove from oven and cut into halves.  Serve hot with the soup.

Makes enough for 6 good-sized servings.

   – article + photos: Lindsey Johnson of Cafe Johnsonia –

Allison

Hello there! I'm Allison Czarnecki, founder + editor of Petit Elefant, a blog all about style on a budget for every part of your life: style / home / travel / family. I do a lot of how-to beauty + style tutorials, travel posts, easy recipes, home remodel projects, and cool DIY crafts you totally want to try. I'm super happily married (to a hot Polish immigrant) and am the mother of two kids, a daughter and son, all of whom are featured here on the regular. We live in the country but we're a little bit rock + roll. Welcome!