Tuscan Vegetable Soup
Written by Annie on November 12th, 2008Apparently I have an addiction. To vegetable soups.
And it never fails that whenever I make soup, I say, “Oh man where is my camera because my bloggites are going to love this recipe.”
That’s sick, people. Sick.
This recipe is from my friend and fellow blogger Kristin. Big ups, Kristin. This is some seriously delicious soup.
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TUSCAN VEGETABLE SOUP
1 (15-ounce) can low-sodium cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced (about 1 cup)
2 carrots, diced (about 1/2 cup)
2 stalks celery, diced (about 1/2 cup)
1 small zucchini, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
32 ounces low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 (14.5-ounce) can no salt added diced tomatoes
2 cups chopped baby spinach leaves
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan, optional
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In a small bowl mash half of the beans with a masher or the back of a spoon, and set aside. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, garlic, thyme, sage, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and cook stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the broth and tomatoes with the juice and bring to a boil. Add the mashed and whole beans and the spinach leaves and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes more. Serve topped with Parmesan, if desired.
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Ok, let me tell you some things I did differently. I forgot to buy the cannellini beans [doh!], but I had two small cans of lima beans. So I smashed one can of beans and used the other whole. Also, I DO NOT EVEN A LITTLE BIT prefer fresh spinach, so I used a box of frozen spinach. It ruled.
It probably makes enough for four big-ish servings. [that's a technical term, obviously.]
And welcome to No Dairy November, where the grilled cheese sandwich is made with soy cheese.
Delicious? Yep. Surprised? Me too. Oh I am really trendy now, eating soy cheese and all. If only my wardrobe was as trendy as my fridge.
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Ummm, yeah, Annie that looks really good (especially the sandwich only I prefer Velveeta to the healthy stuff), but the soup has more than five ingredients and it kind of intimidates me……most of my creations are ive ingredients or less (because I do have a tendency toward kitchen fires and it would be a shame to waste money on more than 5 ingredients to only see the go up in flames
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Oh my - that all looks so yummy! Now, if only I cooked!
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I had wondered how Operation Dairy-Free November was going. Soy cheese huh? I have kids with dairy allergies and I have not tried that… I’ll be looking for it soon though.
Thanks for the recipe. I does look delightful, delicious and delovely. You are a veritable Soup Maven. (I totally had to look that up to make sure it meant what I thought it did.)
How’s the cankle? The last few pictures showed some improvement. I hope you’re feeling better. I’ve been thinking about you and praying too.
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I miss those plates. So thick and solid. Wanna’ trade for my wedding china?
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Good gracious. That grilled cheese…
I’ll be thinking of it when I’m RUNNING IN THE RAIN tonight. Blah.
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That looks DELICIOUS !!! Gonna have to try it !
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Came back b/c I forgot to bookmark the recipe… and now I’m wondering… is it tus-kun or too-sahn? I mean, I’m leaning towards tus-kun but I’d hate to say it wrong in mixed company like the time I said pay-ella instead of pie-ay-uh.
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the sandwich is making me hungry.
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I miss eating off of those plates!
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is that actually a pic of the soup you made? looks so yummy and i love that it is a veggie soup with no meat in it (seems like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised).
i’ll try it fo-sho