Winter Vegetable Soup with Asiago Crostini

Mmmm…. Cold weather perfection. Nick and I aren’t huge fans of chicken noodle soup, so this is basically that, minus the chicken and noodles and adding more vegetables. It’s perfect. BUT the Asiago Crostini puts it WAY over the top!

INGREDIENTS 

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small sweet onion diced
1 leek halved + sliced
4 carrots chopped
3 ribs celery chopped
salt + pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic minced or grated
1 Tbsp fresh ginger grated
2 quarts low sodium chicken broth
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 leaves bay
1-2 cups swiss chard chopped
zest + juice of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup fresh parsley + basil 

For the Asiago Crostini:

1 inch loaf ciabatta bread sliced into 1/4 slices (use a gluten free bread if needed)
olive oil for drizzling
salt + pepper to taste
6 ounces asiago cheese shredded
Fresh thyme for topping

DIRECTIONS

• Heat a large dutch oven or soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil. Once hot, add the onion and leek. Cook until the onion is soft, fragrant and beginning to caramelize. Add the carrots and celery. Season with salt + pepper and continue cooking 3-5 minutes or until the carrots have a little browning on the edges. Stir in the garlic + ginger and cook a minute longer.

• Slowly pour in the chicken broth. Add the thyme and bay leaves. Cover the pot and simmer for 25 minutes.

• After 25 minutes, add the swiss chard, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook until the chard has wilted slightly, about 5-10 minutes. Taste and adjust the salt + pepper to your liking.  Serve with Crostini.

For the Asiago Crostini:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

• Arrange the bread slices on a large baking sheet with sides. Rub each slice with olive oil and sprinkle with salt + pepper. Add the asiago cheese evenly over each slice.

• Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the bread is toasted and golden brown. Sprinkle with fresh herbs and serve along side the soup.