Winter Vegetable Soup

I managed today to make an attractive soup, after several months of producing only “punishment soup,” as my beloved SO refers to them.  I will not include any photos of punishment soup – suffice it to say that putting red cabbage and potatoes together in a soup does not lead to an appealing meal.

My recipe today came from this website.  The most interesting ingredient is the cinnamon. I have no idea what cinnamon is doing in a tomato based soup.  I can’t tell if I can taste it or not, but it smelled nice when I put it in.

Tasty!

Tchai was pretty sure that the pancetta was meant to be for him, but when I gave him a piece he ended up abandoning it on the carpet.  I should have predicted this, but his little cat face was so sincere.

Ingredients:

olive oil
3 oz pancetta, chopped
1 Spanish onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves
1 peeled, cubed acorn squash
6 small peeled, cubed red potatos
1/2 c diced carrots
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp thyme
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
4 diced Campari tomatoes
1 qt chicken broth
4 c chopped kale
1 (15 oz) can butter beans

Preparation:

Heat olive oil in a deep pot over medium-high heat.  Add pancetta and stir until it releases its fats and starts to smell nice.  Add the onion and garlic, and saute until the onions go translucent.  Add squash, potatoes, carrots, basil, cinnamon, and thyme.  Cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add tomatoes, cook 2 minutes.  Stir in the broth.  Bring to a boil, then simmer 10 minutes.  Add kale and simmer until it relaxex (about 5 minutes).  Add the beans, and simmer until potatoes and kale are tender (5 minutes).