During the fall, between the pumpkins and winter squash, and the green beans and summer squash, there are those wonderful fall garden vegetables that you don’t want to miss. Some of my favorites are the red peppers and red chiles, sweet little fingerling potatoes, beautiful leeks and large, juicy shallots. Last week when we had a cold front come through, I celebrated all of these early fall jewels with this rich tasting garden vegetable soup.
It just so happened that last week was also the week of the International Balloon Fiesta. It is a tradition of mine to buy and roast red chile during the Balloon Fiesta and no one wants to break with tradition. Even though it’s been years since I’ve been to the Fiesta, I still celebrate it with October’s red chile. It was this batch of of roasted red that ended up in this soup.
The version of my garden vegetable soup that you see here is not vegetarian. In order to achieve a rich broth, I chose to fry up some bacon in the soup pot first, and then use some of the bacon dripping to sauté the onions and peppers and to deglaze the pot. It was the deglazing process that yielded the dark broth. Of course, then there is the question “What do you do with the cooked bacon?”. OK, that’s a trick question.
If you want a vegetarian version of this soup, be sure to read the Kitchen Notes in the recipe. Enjoy!
A hearty and healthy fall soup made with early fall vegetables, including chopped roasted New Mexico red chile. This soup starts and ends with bacon, but if you are vegetarian, you can omit the bacon and still have a great tasting soup.
*See Kitchen Notes for more information, substitutions, and links.
- 4 pieces thick-sliced meaty bacon*, cut strips in half to cook
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 medium leek, cut lengthwise, then chopped
- 1 large shallot, diced
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 large green bell pepper, chopped
- 4 – 6 cups hot stock/liquid, chicken, beef or vegetable*
- 1 large carrot, cut lengthwise, then chopped
- 1 pound fingerling or red potatoes, cut into 1/2″ cubes
- 1/2 cup mild to medium roasted red chile* or roasted sweet bell pepper, chopped
- 2 – 3 tsp. rice wine vinegar or olive brine
- 1 tsp. dried thyme, crushed
- 1 tsp. dried oregano, crushed (Mexican oregano if you have it)
- 1/4 tsp. celery salt OR 1/2 tsp. celery seeds
- 1 tsp. dried lovage, crushed (optional)
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- Salt to taste*
- Crumbled bacon
- Diced green olives
- Raw onion
- Crumbled feta
- A fresh herb – lovage, chives, basil, dill, thyme, oregano
Cut the pieces of bacon in half (crosswise) and fry in a soup pot until crisp.
When the bacon is crispy, transfer it to a papertowel. Set aside to be used as a topping for the soup.
From the soup pot, remove all but about 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings.*
Reduce heat to medium low and add the three onions (leeks, shallots, onion). Sweat the onions, deglazing the bottom of the pot as the onions release their juices. Sweat for about 15 minutes or until onion is soft. (It will also become brown from the deglazing.)
- Add the bell pepper and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes.
Add 4 cups of hot stock, followed by the carrot and potatoes. If the vegetables aren't floating in the pot, add more liquid.
- Add the herbs and spices.
Bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the roasted chile/sweet pepper and 2 tsp. of vinegar. Simmer until the potatoes are tender, about another 15 minutes.
Remove from the heat and taste. Adjust for salt and acid if necessary. Serve or let cool for a couple of hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Most soups get better with time and this one is no exception.
To serve, top each bowl of soup with crumbled bacon (or another topping) and a chopped fresh herb of choice (optional). Serve with a chunk of crusty artisan bread and enjoy!
There are no exact amounts when making a soup. Use your own judgment as to what you consider small, medium and large.
If you want a vegetarian soup, omit the bacon and steps 1 and 2 of instructions. In step 3, use 2 Tbsp. olive oil instead of the bacon drippings.
Transfer the reserve bacon drippings to a ceramic container for other uses.
Use enough liquid to float the vegetables. You might need to add more as it simmers in order to finish cooking the potatoes.
Roasted red chile – This soup works best with a minimum amount of spiciness IMO; therefore, I purchase mild fresh red chiles just for dishes such as this. If you want it spicy, then use medium red.
If you don’t have fresh red chile, then substitute with a roasted, colored sweet bell pepper (red, yellow or orange). They work just as well as the chiles.
If using fresh herbs, double the amounts given in the recipe for the dried herbs.
Salt – Taste for salt after adding the roasted red chile and then again once the potatoes have cooked. Adjust salt content for your taste; however, remember, you will be topping each serving with bacon bits or another salty topping.
Now that the hot weather is in the past and the temperatures are dropping, those of us in the northern hemisphere are wanting to warm up a bit with a delightful bowl of soup. For more soup ideas, be sure to check out this extensive collection of tantalizing soups.
very tasty soup indeed. I omitted the step of adding the tomatoes and onion to the broth and boiling. I just went straight to the puree and then placed evryhing back into the broth and simmered for 35 minutes. Also I roasted all the vegaetables except for the tomatoes. This allowed for the onions to carmelize and the garlic to let out more flavor than jst crushed. The flavor improves with time. Served this soup at a church lunch and it was a hit. Also did not have thyme so i subbed dried basil. For the salt I used coarse sea salt.
Thanks so much for your comment and feedback! You’re like me in that you use recipes as a guide which is fantastic. Love the improvements!
Well, everything tastes better with chile and especially roasted chile, doesn’t it? This year I haven’t roasted any chile but since we have a constant supply from the Turkish stalls on my market, I’ll try to roast some because their medium hot chile was good for roasting.
Your soup sounds amazing!
“everything tastes better with chile” – you got that right! 🙂 It didn’t roast as much as I should have so I’ll probably run out early summer, but I can always find it here year round, so I don’t worry about it. Thanks! I’d love to browse some of those Turkish stalls with the chiles. In fact, I’d love to browse your market. Food markets are my favorite places to shop!! To heck with clothes, I can buy those online. 🙂
I love that you have kitchen notes with a veggie option for this–I am most definitely in the mood for a nice comforting soup these days! Though I am honestly super curious about the original bacon recipe and might have to make it for my bf to try…!
Thanks Ala! I do try to provide vegetarian options is possible for the dish because we try to eat vegetarian several times a week. It’s just sometimes, things are better with bacon. 🙂
bacon is the bomb and makes everything better! love the flavours in this soup. cheers sherry
thanks Sherry! You are so right about bacon! You do know that bacon is the gateway food for vegetarians. 🙂
While it is still warm here in Florida, that doesn’t keep me from enjoying a good bowl of soup. Yours certainly does sound flavorful.
Thanks Karen! Maybe I should come to Florida. I love the warmth so much more than the cold. 🙂
It is so chile season. Red or green, I don’t care. This sounds perfect for NOW!
Chile season it is! Thanks Abbe!
What do you do with the leftover bacon? Who can’t answer that! Around here it would be lucky if I had any left for the soup itself! Beautiful soup. Ready for soup season here!
Leftover Bacon? No sure thing. LOL My trick is to always fry up an extra piece or two then hide the bacon I need for the soup. 🙂 Thanks Debra!
I love this kind of soup and make similar version of it myself, sometimes with bacon and sometimes without. And I’ve never added the roasted pepper either, definitely something to try next time.
Thanks Adina! Don’t you just love using these early fall vegetables in a soup. You should add some roasted red bells next time. It really adds another layer of flavor.
It’s really fun to see all the soup recipes being published as fall arrives! Yours looks delicious. We have been lucky with a long season of fall vegetables this year — lots of peppers.
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Thanks Mae! I think it’s a given – when the weather cools off, the soup pots come out. 🙂
MJ, what a hearty and lovely soup! The bacon must give it a wonderful flavor and of course, I always love your use of chili in dishes!
Thanks Kelly! In my opinion and my husband’s, the bacon is not an option. 🙂
This looks so hearty, flavorful, and comforting! Perfect for the cold and rainy days we are having around here lately!
Thanks Amy! Yes, it’s all that! 🙂 It would certainly warm you up in cold weather.
This is one hearty and delicious soup, chock full of all the deliciousness of the harvest. Bacon, according to my boys, is one of the major food groups so they would be on board.
Thanks Bobbi! I have to agree with your boys – bacon is a major food group. 🙂 Bacon has always kept me from become a vegetarian.
Keeping this “bacon” one but the collection of soups and stews also. Happy to see colder weather arrived here also 🙂 Thank you MJ !
Thanks Davorka! Glad you’re keeping the soup roundup. It’s got some great soups in there.
I am definitely a soup person. This is a fantastic harvest soup. Yummy and healthy!
Thanks Angie!
I’m glad you didn’t break with tradition, those red chiles really bring the oomph factor we want (well, all year round), but especially in the fall ;o. So true about the under-spoken veggies this time of year! Our garden is still full of beautiful cherry tomatoes (no end in sight) – such a bowl of sunshine MJ. You’ve got me craving this delicious soup for dinner tonight!
Thanks Kelly! So jealous that you’re still getting tomatoes. After the heat wave in August we got a huge a lot of fertilization on the tomato plants, but I’m afraid the few tomatoes we have won’t make it to the freeze. Oh well – fried green tomatoes. 🙂
Love this soup, it looks really delicious! Bacon got my attention and I have to find some red chile peppers now, not so plentiful here but I love them, Thanks for the recipe, it’s a keeper!
Thanks Pam! Fresh red chiles only have about a 3 weeks life span at the markets here, but I try to stay on top of it so I can get some. They are so good in soups and many other recipes.
Soup is so welcome this time of year with the cooling temperatures. I am a big fan of the roasted red chile, sometimes it is hotter than the green chile but has a sweetness that makes it special in recipes like your roasted vegetable soup. I have several packages of roasted red saved aside, you have inspired me to make some soup! Thanks MJ !
Thanks Jan! Sichler has mild, medium and hot in the fresh reds right now. In fact they have very hot! I’m staying away from those. I picked up some mild and medium the other day. You’re right – such a wonderful sweetness and flavor.
There are so many great veggies in the market at this time of the year! So much fun to cook with them. I always enjoy dishes that use bacon fat for browning onions, etc — so much extra flavor. And the bacon makes wonderful garnish. Or a nice treat for the cook. 🙂 This looks excellent — thanks.
There are a lot of great veggies aren’t there? I hae to give my mother credit for the bacon dripping habit of mine. That’s pretty much all she ever used for onions. 🙂 Thanks!!!