My Hearty Root Vegetable Soup with Orzo ~

I have been making this delicious soup for over twenty years.  I started making it because for about 10 years during the eighties, I was a vegetarian.  It was and still is, an excellent and hearty cold weather soup, even if you are a carnivore.  And I now use chicken stock instead of a vegetable stock, which I think makes it taste even richer.  But, you can make it either way.   The only fussy part about this dish is you have to cut the vegetables to small, 1/2 inch dice pieces.  Other than that, it's a cinch to make.  And lets not forget, very healthy too.


4 medium carrots, peeled and small diced
1 medium turnip, peeled and small diced
1 large onion, small diced
1/2 of a large head of green cabbage (I can never find a small head),
cored and outside leaves discarded.  Large dice.
1 bunch of broccoli rabe, chopped, small and large stems discarded
6 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 box of orzo pasta, cooked, or any other small pasta you like
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 whole bay leaves
good parmesan cheese, grated (I sprinkle about 1 tablespoon per bowl)

On stove top, heat a large dutch oven to medium heat.  Put 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Add onion and let saute a minute, add turnip and carrot.  Stir and add salt and pepper.  Saute and stir for about 5 minutes.  Add cabbage and let saute about 2-3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup white wine.  Stir.  Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Add bay leaves and red pepper flakes, and let simmer on low for 10 minutes.  Add broccoli rabe, turn heat off and cover.
Let sit on stovetop for about 20 minutes.  Uncover, check seasonings and serve with a small scoop of orzo at bottom of each bowl, ladle in soup and add some parmesan cheese on top.  Now, doesn't it look so yummy?

This recipe makes enough to feed eight people well.  I usually don't have that many people to cook for, so I freeze the extra, minus the orzo and parmesan cheese.

And this soup, although no guarentees, will help ward off all of those cold weather colds too ~