When soup season arrives, you want to have a few hearty-yet-nutritious options in your arsenal. And if you haven’t got a good veggie-bean soup on your roster yet, we suggest you take a cue from culinary creator and TV presenter Diane Kochilas. Her cookbook Athens is bursting with Mediterranean recipes from appetizers to desserts, but we’re particularly fond of her Greek vegetable soup with jammy eggs.
To create this delicious, fiber-rich medley, you’ll first sweat classic aromatics like onions, leek, carrots, and garlic before adding potatoes alongside some canned tomatoes with their juices. Toss in some vegetable broth, add white beans, and let it all simmer before adding leafy Swiss chard and some earthy herbs. The crowning glory, which adds some excellent protein, is the famously beloved “jammy egg.”
If you’re not a jammy egg expert, don’t worry: Making this garnish is surprisingly easy. Simply place your eggs in cold water, then bring to a simmer and cook for a few minutes. Remove and rise in cold water, then peel. Trust us, once you take a bite of those oozy, golden yolks, you’ll be trying this method on the regular. And really, don’t skip the eggs: These soft-boiled superstars will instantly elevate your vegetable soup from comforting to unforgettable.
Greek Vegetable Soup With Jammy Eggs
Makes 4-8 servings
Ingredients
- ½ cup extra-virgin Greek olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 3 celery stalks, trimmed and chopped
- 2 large onions, chopped
- 1 leek, trimmed and chopped
- 3 large carrots, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise ¼-inch thick
- 3 garlic cloves, finely minced 2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1½ quarts vegetable stock or water
- 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans. drained and rinsed
- 1 large bunch Swiss chard, trimmed and cut into thick ribbons
- 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh oregano
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, heat ¼ cup of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the celery, onions, leek, and carrots, then lower the heat to medium-low and cover the pot. Sweat the vegetables for 6 to 7 minutes, until softened. Stir in the garlic. Add the potatoes and turn to coat in the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the canned tomatoes with their juices and stir to combine with the vegetables. Pour in the vegetable stock. Raise the heat to medium-high, add the beans, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer the soup for about 30 minutes. Add the Swiss chard and continue cooking for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the soup is thick and rich and all the ingredients have melded. Stir the parsley and oregano, adjust the seasoning with additional salt and pepper, and stir in the remaining ¼ cup olive oil.
- About 10 minutes before serving the soup, place the eggs in a medium pot with enough cold water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook the eggs to soft, about 4 minutes. Remove and rinse under cold water. Peel the eggs and cut them in half lengthwise, being careful not to spill the yolk, which should still be almost liquid. You have to time this so that you can serve the eggs when the soup is also ready to be served.
- To serve, ladle the hot soup into individual bowls and garnish with 1 or 2 soft-boiled egg halves in each.
From Athens, by Diane Kochilas. Copyright © 2025 by the author, and reprinted with permission of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.
