I love eating hot soup for lunch in the winter, don’t you? It’s especially wonderful when the soup is absolutely delectable, and you can’t seem to stop your spoon from continuously dipping back into the bowl for more soup.

I must tell you, this Hearty Winter Vegetable soup, made with some ingenious ingredients, is simply delicious. The sweetness of the butter squash ran throughout, and the homemade chicken broth added to the addictive flavor. The chickpeas were quite tasty, and I usually don’t care for chickpeas! Yukon gold potatoes added to the heartiness factor. A whole head of escarole, chopped up, and thrown in at the end added to the appeal. But the crowning glory was the 2 tablespoons of real lemon juice and chopped up mint leaves. Each bite was heavenly.

A big thank you to the Ehrlich’s for sharing their fab recipe for Hearty Winter Vegetable Soup in the January 2010 issue of Martha Stewart Living  magazine! I substituted onion for leeks, eliminated the fresh dill (as I had used dill to cook my homemade chicken stock) and more than halved the spiciness; I used only a very, very small pinch of red pepper flakes. I also ended up adding 2 more cups of chicken broth than the 5 1/4 cups the recipe called for, probably because I let it simmer longer than the 15 minutes the recipe suggested.

Total time to make the soup–about 45 minutes, including prep time. My mother helped me chop up some of the vegetables for the soup, and stirred the veggies in the pot while I cut the butternut squash. Thanks to Mom, nothing burned while I was chopping. Thanks, Mom!

I wish I had been able to serve the soup with good bread and cheese. I just happened to not have those on hand that day.

I simply must make some more chicken broth soon so that I can make this soup again! It is the best soup I have ever made. What is your favorite soup?

Photo by Kelly Estes