This soup was awesomesauce! For real.
I was worried it might taste “too healthy”.
You know how that is…too bland, too much “green flavor” and not enough richness.
But this soup was delicious.
I totally give it an A+.
In fact, I talked about it for like an hour after dinner last night. Because I’m a total food-nerd and I can’t help myself.
It’s low-sodium, totally vegetarian (vegan in fact!) and pretty much a big, warm grandma hug in a bowl.
One last thing before I share the recipe…
I came across this soup on one of my fave food blogs, Eats Well With Others. Joanne has such spunk and personality that I want to fly to New York City and cook and eat with her for a whole weekend. Her blog is a great mix of creative, healthy vegetarian food, sinfully delicious desserts and her fun adventures in dating, running and medical school.
Plus, she was gracious enough to leave a comment here on ye ole blog when I made her Pink Lady Cupcakes. Cause she’s not to big and fancy to take time for those kinds of things
Ok, ok, here’s the details on the soup!
Winter Minestrone
adapted from Good Food Magazine via Eats Well With Others
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 6 medium carrots, roughly chopped
- 1 large red onion, coarsely chopped
- 1 head of garlic, cloves peeled (The whole head! Then mince the cloves)
- 1 large bunch swiss chard, leaves roughly chopped and stalks sliced
- 28 oz canned diced tomatoes (I used Trader Joe's low sodium)
- ½ head cabbage, heart removed and leaves cut into strips
- 1 15 oz can cannellini beans
- 4 cups vegetable broth, boiling (I used Naturally Preferred Organic Vegetable Broth and I highly recommend it. I'm pretty sure some of the awesome richness came from using a quality veggie stock)
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- Freshly grated parmesan, for serving (optional)
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and slowly fry the carrots and onion. This will take about 20 minutes but it's worth it - the slow cooking gives a lovely taste. Add the garlic and chard stalks and stir to prevent sticking. Stir in the tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes or until reduced.
- Add the Swiss chard leaves, the cabbage, the beans, and the boiling stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat. Simmer for 30 minutes. Pour in more stock if needed (mine didn't).
- Serve hot with Parmesan or no cheese at all since the soup is amazing on it's own!
Good post. I’m dealing with some of these issues as well..
This soup is the best kind of healthy food, because it tastes so good you actually want to eat more of it! Plus it leaves you feeling satisfied, which we all know is important when watching calories. Thanks for being awesome and trying new foods for us babe!!