As I’ve said before, I really really really love tacos. For this recipe, I wanted to try and ADAPT my favorite vegetable taco recipe to a different medium – namely a soup. I thought it might work because I could use the same toppings and just repurpose the taco filling as a spiced soup.

The details:

Jump to recipe

Thought process:

This was very simple. I based the soup RATIOS on a few different recipes I have for pureed soups (especially this one, on Food52). That’s also where I got the idea for the lentils, which add some heft without adding any flavor. The spices and toppings were from my favorite taco recipe (some of which you’ve already seen in this post). Easy peasy.

Homemade vegetable stock – When possible, I like to make my own vegetable stock. Mostly, I see it as an opportunity to use all of the vegetables that I’m paying for rather than contributing to food waste. Plus it seems criminal to pay so much for a box of mostly water. The way I do it is I save vegetable scraps in the freezer until I’ve amassed a good amount (and have some time), then I cover them with water and boil for about an hour. I strain it into leftover yogurt containers and store it in the freezer.

Immersion Blenders – See my tips and tricks for a discussion of immersion blenders. They’re really great for just such an occasion!

Below, the recipe:

Vegetable Taco Soup
Makes 8 servings

 

Soup:

• 3 pounds butternut squash, in 1 inch cubes
• 1.5 pounds carrots, in 1 inch cubes
• 1 cup lentils
• 8 cups vegetable stock
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 large red onion, diced (reserve 1/4 cup)
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 4 tsp chili powder
• 3 tsp salt
• Cotija cheese
• Tortilla chips

1. In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium and saute onion for 3 min until softened
2. Add the garlic and cook for 3 min
3. Add the squash, carrot, lentils, cumin, and chili powder and stir to combine
4. Add the broth (make sure the vegetables are covered) and bring to a boil
5. Simmer 40-45 min until the carrots are tender
6. Puree with an immersion blender
7. Season with 3 tsp salt or to taste

“Quickled” (Quick-pickled) Green Cabbage: (from Jessica in the Kitchen)

• 1/2 green cabbage, shredded
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp sugar

1. Combine vinegar, water, salt and sugar in a medium saucepan and boil for 2 min
2. Add the cabbage and cook 2 min
3. Cool and store in a mason jar

“Magic” Cilantro Sauce:

• 1/2 cup sour cream

• 1 Tbsp canola oil

• Juice of 1/2 lime

• 1 clove garlic

• 1 cup cilantro

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1. Combine all the sauce ingredients in a tall tupperware container or mason jar
2. Puree with an immersion blender 1-2 min until green

To serve:

Top the soup with cilantro sauce, cabbage, reserved red onions and cheese, and serve with tortilla chips.

Rating:

3/5 stars.
My friend really loved this soup, but I was not such a huge fan. I find it to be a few very strong flavors (especially the pickled cabbage and cilantro sauce), but they seem to fight with each other more than compliment each other. I also don’t love the texture of the pureed soup.