New recipes pop up in the most unexpected places. This one comes from Book Pages, a monthly book review publication our local library distributes for free. One of the cookbooks reviewed in the June 2013 Book Pages was Bacon Nation. The recipe was included in the review and caught my eye for two reasons:
- I’m an Iowa girl who loves her bacon.
- The recipe uses vegetables included in our CSA share.
So I tore out the recipe and kept it handy until the veggies were ripe and gave it a go. The soup was delicious. Even the Man of Steel liked it. So much that he took the leftovers to work, something he rarely does with soup. With that ringing endorsement, here’s the latest recipe to receive the coveted Hiram seal of approval.
Summer Vegetable and Bacon Soup
5 slices bacon, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 medium-sized onion, diced
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
2 large cloves garlic, pressed
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock (I added a little ham broth to the mix)
1 medium-sized baking potato, peeled and diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 small zucchini, trimmed and diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 large ripe tomatoes, cored and chopped
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon olive oil
Cook bacon in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat until lightly browned, about 5–8 minutes, stirring often. Use slotted spoon to transfer bacon to a plate lined with paper toweling. Leave bacon fat in the pan.
Place the pan over medium heat, add onion and cook about 4–5 minutes, until the onion has softened and is lightly browned.
Stir in the carrots and half the garlic. Cook about 1 minute. Add the chicken/vegetable stock and 2 cups of water. Cover the pan and bring to a boil. Then let the stock mixture simmer, uncovered, until the carrots soften, about 5 minutes.
Add the potato, zucchini, half the chopped tomatoes and half the bacon. Cover pan and bring to a boil. Then let soup simmer, partially covered, until the potatoes are cooked, about 20 minutes. Skim off fat or foam if needed.
While the soup cooks, place remaining garlic, tomatoes, basil and olive oil in a blender or small food processor. Process until smooth. Set aside.
When the soup is done, remove it from heat and swirl the tomato–basil mixture into the pan. Add salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with remaining pieces of bacon.
