Simple Vegetable Soup

I always love having homemade soup in the house because it goes well as a quick lunch or dinner, paired up with a salad or a small salad it is perfect. In the summers I like to make vegetable soups without any meat. I find them to be lighter in the summers and yet still comforting. This soup reminded me of a Provencal soup I used to make in culinary school. It has great simple flavors in it and can be made with chicken stock, vegetable stock or even water!

1 quart Stock or Water
1 Large Parsnip, Diced
1 Large Leek, Using only the Light Green and White Parts, Washed Well
1 Medium Onion, Diced
2 Carrots, Sliced
2 Small Turnips
2 Handfuls Frozen Peas
2 Stems of Fresh Thyme
2 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil


1. Preheat a pot to medium high heat. While chopping the veggies, drop them into the pot to make everything go faster.
2. Let all the veggies, except the sweet peas, sweat together for 10-15 minutes or until tender and very aromatic. *If you are using water try and sautee the veggies for longer to extract as much flavor as possible from them.*
3. Add cooking liquid of choice and simmer on medium heat for 30-45 minutes, or until desired flavor is achieved.
4. Finish off with the peas when the heat is turned off.