The leaves have mostly fallen and the days are short. It’s November and soup is on my mind. Especially in 2020, where we want – or have – to stay in the house (preferably on the couch under a blanket), soup is the perfect comfort meal.

In case you’re wondering, there’s no actual stuffing in this soup. It’s a vegetable and noodle soup that incorporates the herby, slow-cooked vegetable taste of stuffing, but in a dish that won’t send you into a food coma.

I used the traditional savory, woody herbs that I tend to have on hand this time of year – rosemary and thyme – to flavor this soup. I also used include onion and celery, which were stuffing “must haves” in my family’s stuffing recipes. I added carrots because I love carrots in soup. Sliced fresh mushrooms would also be a great addition.

Soup should be both delicious AND utilitarian. It’s a great place to get creative and use what you like and have on hand. So, for example, if you want to use up ingredients that you wouldn’t normally find in stuffing – like peas or string beans – throw them in after you’ve sautéed down the onions, carrots and celery, stir in a few tablespoons of cream right before serving and call it “Pot Pie Soup” instead. It’s your world 🙂

A quick note about broth: I used Osem’s Consommé soup and seasoning mix in this soup. My colleague, Alice, introduced me to this a long time ago. It has a savory “chicken-y” quality…probably from the MSG (monosodium glutamate). I used to ask Alice to get it for me from her kosher grocery store. Later, I found it in the kosher section of the Safeway in Greenbelt, Maryland, and have been buying it there since. If you can’t find the consommé, are sensitive to MSG or would prefer to use an alternative, vegetable bouillon cubes (I like the Rapunzel brand), Better than Bullion (vegetable flavor), or vegetable stock would also work well.

Stuffing Soup

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3-4 ribs celery, sliced in chunky half moons
• 3-4 carrots, sliced in chunky coins
• 2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary (or use dried)
• 2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme (or use dried)
• 7-8 cups water, broth (veggie or mushroom) or a mix of the two
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. Osem consommé powder or 1-2 vegetable bullion cubes
• 1 1/2 cup dried egg noodles
• Salt

Heat olive oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add vegetables and cook down until the vegetable soften and start to brown. Add 7 cups of water and/or broth, herbs and bullion cubes and bring to a boil. Add the egg noodles and cook for five minutes or so. Taste and adjust for salt. Let the pasta finish cooking and check the consistency. The noodles will continue to expand as the soup sits, so you might need to add a bit more water now or when you reheat individual servings later. Ladle some soup into your favorite bowl and serve.

Yummy yum!