Vegetable Soup: First Course or Dinner? Two Ways to Serve Our Original Recipe

One jar, two ways to serve it, and a place at the table every day

Of all the vegetable soup recipes we have created, this is the one that came first. We have been making it since Karine & Jeff began in 2000. It is our everyday soup, the one for every occasion, and especially for evenings when there is no occasion at all.

At Karine & Jeff, we have our own way of grouping vegetables into three families: roots, “rounds”, and leaves. In this soup, certified organic broccoli, carrots, leeks, and butternut squash come together with oregano, parsley, and turmeric. The result is a smooth, balanced soup in which each flavour keeps its own character.

That balance allows the soup to open a meal with a delicate touch or take its place at the centre. What changes is not the soup, but the portion and what you serve alongside it.

As a First Course: A Small Cup to Begin

For a first course, allow about one quarter of a jar per person. One 500 ml jar makes four small servings of 125 ml each.

Warm the soup gently, then pour it into small cups or shallow bowls. A light drizzle of olive oil or a few chopped herbs are all it needs.

In this portion, the soup begins the meal without taking it over. It can come before roasted vegetables, a grain dish, pasta, or a savoury tart.

For four first-course servings

• 1 × 500 ml jar
• 4 small cups or bowls
• 125 ml per person

As Dinner: Let the Soup Take Centre Stage

To bring the soup to the centre of the meal, divide the jar between two bowls, 250 ml per person. This larger serving becomes the foundation of a simple dinner.

Pair each bowl with a generous slice of toasted sourdough spread with hummus, then finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a few chopped herbs.

The toast adds substance and contrast while keeping the soup at the centre of the meal.

For two dinner servings

• 1 × 500 ml jar
• 2 bowls
• 250 ml per person
• 2 generous slices of sourdough
• Hummus, olive oil, and a few chopped herbs

The Same Soup, with a Different Place at the Table

In a small cup, it begins the meal. In a bowl with a generous slice of toast, it becomes the centre of a simple dinner. The recipe does not change; only the portion and the moment give it a different place at the table.

That may be why it has remained our signature vegetable soup since 2000. Our other soups may follow the seasons, spices, and flavours of our travels; this is the one we come back to on ordinary evenings.

And when time is short, all the cooking is already in the jar. Simply warm the soup and decide what place it will take at the table tonight.

Discover Karine & Jeff Vegetable Soup

Prep time: 2 to 5 minutes
Serves: 4 as a first course or 2 as a simple dinner
Base: 1 × 500 ml jar
Dietary notes: no meat or fish