An antidote for all the cookies; vegetable soup. This started off as Mark Bittman's recipe; The Best Vegetable Soup Ever, No Kidding but was tweaked to account for tastes and what we had in the garden. I added red bell pepper and parsnips, greens from the garden to make up for the chard I couldn't find at the store(s). I pureed the cannellini beans because it's the only way my children eat beans. I quite like soups this way - it adds a richness and texture to the broth. I also added wide egg noodles about half an hour before serving and let it simmer, highly recommended. Served with a bit of artisan-bread-in-five-minutes-a-day, it made a lovely and surprisingly hearty winter dinner. I particularly liked the bit of cabbage, something I normally wouldn't have included. Though I now have a lot of leftover cabbage... any ideas, friends?
This was supposed to be dinner on Sunday but I didn't get to it. I am only able to accomplish about a third of what I set out to do. The baby naps in 15 minute increments these days. A phase, I think, which may have ended yesterday with a glorious two hour nap and an evening bedtime before 11:30pm. I was unstoppable. I cleaned, read to my older two children, made dinner, even KNIT a row or two of that accursed February Baby Sweater, size: take a guess! Who knows! Just knit and hope for the best! Frog and knit again. And again. And again. Seriously on the 4th yoke now.
ETA: the recipe copied all wonky - trying to fix it now. ETA again. Fixed, I think.
Ahem.
A Pleasant Winter Vegetable Soup Which Might Really Be the Best Ever, No Kidding, If You Follow the Recipe.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup olive oil, more or less
- 2 onions, peeled and chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 2 celery stalks, peeled and chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bunch parsley, washed and chopped, thick stems discarded
- 2 or 3 cabbage leaves, chopped
- 1 bunch chard, preferably white, washed and chopped
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 3 to 4 cups cooked white beans, like cannelloni, with their liquid if possible
Preparation
Put about a third of the olive oil in the bottom of a deep pot and turn the heat to medium.
Add half the onion, carrot and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften, which takes about 10 minutes.
Add about half of the remaining oil and repeat the process, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go.
Add the remaining oil with the parsley, cabbage and chard and cook, stirring occasionally, until everything is softened but not browned.
Add the tomato paste and stir.
Mash the beans so that they’re about half mashed and half more-or-less whole. Add this mixture to the pot, along with any bean cooking liquid and enough water to make the whole mixture stewy but not watery.
Continue cooking, tasting and adjusting the seasoning as necessary, until all the vegetables are very tender and the soup is hot. Serve hot or warm.
