Quinoa & White Bean Soup

This soup, like so many other dishes, began its life with me on Pinterest, where I often go for inspiration. It’s a lovely, brothy soup the first day. The flavor improves with age, and it also thickens, due to the quinoa. By the third day, it is actually more of a light stew. My family loved it that way for a substantial and delicious dinner.

I’m including here the veggies that I used. Any greens are fine, though, and the summer squash and zucchini can be traded out for another high water content veggie.

QUINOA & WHITE BEAN SOUP

INGREDIENTS

• Beans, Great Northern, 1/2 lb. cooked ’til al dente in water to cover (check water periodically and add if needed)
• Extra virgin olive oil, 3 TB
• Spanish onion, 1, minced
• Poblano, 1, minced
• Garlic, 6 cloves, minced
• Carrots, 3 med.-large, washed and cut on bias
• Celery, 2 large stalks
• Seasonal veggies, 2 cups at least, coarsely chopped (I used zucchini and yellow squash)
• Greens, 1-2 cups rough chopped
• Tomatoes, 8 Roma, petite diced or 1 28-oz. can petite diced
• Quinoa, 1 cup
• Water, 1 quart
• Vegeta, 4 tsp.
• Salt, 1 TB
• Szeged Hot paprika, 1/2 tsp.
• Thyme, 1 TB fresh (stripped from stems)
• Pepper, black, freshly ground

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Rinse beans and cook in pot with lid in water to cover. Check periodically to make certain water doesn’t cook off. When just tender, remove from heat and set aside.
2. Mince onion and saute in extra virgin olive oil in a soup pot.
3. Add minced garlic to the pot, and saute a moment longer.
4. Add carrots and celery cut on bias to the pot and saute until just tender.
5. Add 1 quart water with Vegeta (soup base) stirred in. If you don’t have a vegan soup base, water is fine — you might just have to use a little more salt.
6. Add one 32-oz. can petite diced tomatoes (or 8 Roma tomatoes, petite diced)
7. Add seasonings and 2 cups seasonal vegetables (zucchini and summer squash this time)
8. Simmer together until flavors well-blended and veggies are all softened.
9. Add seasonings (salt, hot paprika, thyme).
10. Add 1 cup quinoa and cook for 15 minutes until done.
11. Add beans with their liquid (should have cooked down some so it just covers the beans).
12. At the end of the cooking time, add rough-chopped greens. I used kale in this batch.
13. Grind in fresh black pepper to taste.

Hope you enjoy this healthy, substantial, delicious veggie soup!

For more, visit my blog, vegetatingwithleslie.org, “Like” me on FaceBook/Vegetating with Leslie or follow me on Twitter, @vegwithleslie.