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Vegetarian, Northern, Eastern and Western France

Cultivator’s vegetable soup with cheese toasts

Cultivator's vegetable soup is a winter vegetable soup with carrots, leeks, turnips and potatoes cut into cubes, served with melted cheese toasts, for 4 people in 50 minutes. It's a very easy recipe, at €1.50 per person. The key is cutting all the vegetables the same size so they cook evenly and keep some bite.

Tonight, a farmhouse style vegetable soup, chunky diced vegetables simmered low and slow, with melted cheese toasts on top.

Cultivator’s vegetable soup with cheese toasts
Total time
50 min
Difficulty
Very easy
Cost per person
€1.50
Calories per person
540 kcalcalculated by Kiloach, your weight coach
Season
Fall, Winter
The kids
They generally like it

Cultivator's vegetable soup is a countryside classic, the kind where you can actually recognize each vegetable in your spoon. Leeks, carrots, turnips and potatoes simmer together in chunky cubes, never blended, keeping that rustic texture and honest winter vegetable flavor. The broth slowly picks up flavor from the butter and the vegetables sweated at the start.

It's the ideal dinner for a cool fall or winter evening, when you want something simple and filling without spending the whole night in the kitchen. The melted cheese toasts turn a plain soup into a real meal, and kids love dunking their golden bread in the broth. Mon Chou often suggests this one on days when the fridge mostly has vegetables left to use up.

The ingredients

4 people

Fruits and vegetables

  • Leeks 2
  • Carrots 3
  • Turnips 2
  • Potatoes 3
  • Onion 1
  • Chervil 1 sprigs

Dairy

  • Butter 30 g
  • Grated gruyere 100 g

Pantry

  • Vegetable bouillon cubeoften in the pantry 1
  • Saltoften in the pantry 1 pinch
  • Pepperoften in the pantry 1 pinch

Bakery

  • Country bread 4 slices

Allergens Gluten, Lactose

The step by step recipe

  1. Peel and cut all the vegetables into small, even cubes.

    Save the carrot and leek peelings for another batch of stock.

  2. Sweat the onion and leeks in the butter, then add the rest of the vegetables. 5 min

    Stir for two minutes so the vegetables get coated in butter.

  3. Cover with a liter and a half of water with the bouillon cube and let simmer covered. 30 min

    The soup should simmer gently, never at a rolling boil.

  4. Top the bread slices with gruyere and broil them until melted and golden. 5 min

    Day old bread works perfectly here.

  5. Adjust the seasoning, serve the soup with the toasts and a bit of chervil.

    Mash a few vegetables to thicken the soup without blending it.

Our tips to get it right

  • Cut the potatoes last and drop them straight into cold water, they darken fast once exposed to air.
  • If the soup looks too thin at the end of cooking, let it simmer uncovered a few more minutes to reduce.
  • Pick a dense bread like a country loaf or day old bread, it holds up better under the broiler than fresh baguette.

The variations

  • Swap the gruyere for comte or emmental depending on what's in your fridge, it melts just as well.
  • For a gluten free version, serve the soup with gluten free bread or simply on its own, without the toasts.
  • For kids in a hurry, blend part of the soup for a smoother texture and cut the bread into little strips for dunking.

What to serve it with

  • A sharply dressed green salad
  • Extra soft boiled eggs
  • A glass of warm apple juice

Storage

The soup keeps 2 to 3 days in the fridge in a sealed container, and freezes well for up to 2 months without the toasts. Reheat it gently in a pot, and make the toasts fresh right before serving.

Questions about this dish

Can you make cultivator's vegetable soup ahead of time?

Yes, the soup can be made the day before and gently reheated, it actually tastes even better after a night in the fridge. Make the cheese toasts only right before serving so they stay crisp.

Can you replace the vegetable bouillon cube?

You can use homemade stock or a chicken bouillon cube if you're not vegetarian. Just make sure there's enough salt to bring out the vegetable flavors.

Should cultivator's vegetable soup be blended?

No, keeping the vegetables in visible cubes is what gives this soup its character. You can just mash a few pieces with a fork at the end of cooking to slightly thicken the broth.

Can you freeze cultivator's vegetable soup?

Yes, it freezes very well for up to 2 months in an airtight container, without the toasts. Let it thaw in the fridge before reheating gently in a pot.

How long does it take to make a cultivator's vegetable soup with cheese toasts?

Count 50 min in total, prep and cooking included. The recipe is rated “very easy”.

How many calories are in a cultivator's vegetable soup with cheese toasts?

About 540 kcal per serving, for a recipe meant for 4 people. Calories are calculated by Kiloach, your weight coach, the app that partners with Mon Chou.

How much does a cultivator's vegetable soup with cheese toasts cost?

About €1.50 per serving, or €6.00 for 4 people, based on average supermarket prices.

What allergens does this recipe contain?

This recipe contains gluten, lactose. Always check the labels of the products you buy.

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