Smoky Root Soup
By: Vivica Menegaz
Published: Wednesday, January 22, 2014 - 9:30pm

Ingredients




2 tablespoons fat of choice (bacon drippings, lard, butter)
1 sweet organic onion
3 medium organic parsnips
5 medium organic carrots
3 medium organic beets
3 uncured bacon slices
1 quart bone broth
2 quarts water
salt
pepper
1 tablespoon dry herb mix (thyme, rosemary, oregano)
½ teaspoon dry chili flakes

Preparation

1 Melt fat in a Dutch Oven or other heavy bottom stock pot 2 slice the onion thinly and add to the fat on a low flame 3 sweat the onion for about 5 min. 4 in the meantime wash and trim all the root vegetables and chop in small pieces (about 1 inch long) 5 Add herbs to the pot 6 Add the root vegetables to the pot a bit at the time as you are cutting them, mixing well every time, letting them sweat with the onions 7 Cut the bacon slice in small pieces (inch wide) and add to the pot 8 After stirring for another 5 minutes add the broth and the water to the pot 9 Raise the flame to high and bring to a boil 10 Reduce flame to low and cover the pot 11 Simmer lightly for about 1.5 hours, or until the vegetables are tender.

About

I am in love with the hearty flavor of a great vegetable soup, having grown up with plenty of minestrones, but meat adds a special touch. It’s that extra bit of flavor, that irreplaceable umami. Bacon adds a whole new layer of taste, a lovely smokiness, a delicious sweet porky flavor! The broth adds the other layer of depth, in this case I used bone broth I made with the leftover goat leg but you can use any bone broth you have handy.