Filling and flavorful, this becomes a meal in itself when served with a robust bread and a simple salad. Though the peas and herbs will lose their color, this keeps exceptionally well and develops flavor as it stands. For an extra special cool-weather meal, start making some Focaccia Bread just before making the soup. Adapted from Vegan Soups and Hearty Stews for All Seasons by Nava Atlas.
Minestrone
Filling and flavorful, this becomes a meal in itself when served with a robust bread and a simple salad.
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Servings: 8 to 10
Calories: 172kcal
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 medium onions finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 large carrots peeled and diced
- 2 medium celery stalks diced
- 2 medium potatoes peeled and diced
- 28- ounce can crushed tomatoes
- ¼ cup dry red or white wine optional
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons Italian herb seasoning blend
- 1 ½ to 2 cups cooked or canned drained and rinsed red beans, kidney beans, or chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen green peas thawed
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- ¼ cup minced fresh parsley
- Leaves from a few fresh thyme or oregano leaves optional
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a soup pot. Add the onions and sauté over medium-low heat until translucent.
- Add the garlic and continue to sauté until both are golden.
- Add the carrots, celery, and potatoes, along with just enough water to cover the vegetables (about 3 cups). Bring to a slow boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently, covered, until the vegetables are nearly tender.
- Stir in the crushed tomatoes, optional wine, bay leaves, seasoning blend, and beans. Return to a simmer, then cover and simmer gently until the vegetables are done, about 15 to 20 minutes longer.
- Add the green peas, parsley, and optional thyme or oregano. Adjust the consistency with more water as needed if the soup is too crowded, then season with salt and pepper. Discard the bay leaves and serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 172kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 235mg | Potassium: 759mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 3074IU | Vitamin C: 33mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 3mg
Vegan-ize any recipe!Grab our free vegan cheat sheet, packed with my favorite easy substitutions to make any recipe vegan.
Nutrition Information
Per serving: Calories: 130; Total fat: 3g; Protein: 5g; Fiber: 6g; Carbs: 24g; Sodium: 190mg
- Try some of VegKitchen’s other Soulful Soups.
- Here are more Warming Winter Soups.
mandy says
I love the recipe posts, but do with the nutrition information was listed.
Nava says
Mandy, that would indeed be great but it would cost me a lot of money to hire someone to do the analyses! I've had to hire people to do so for my books and it's a fairly substantial cost. Hopefully there are programs out there that allow you to plug in the ingredients of recipes you're interested in, and get the data.
Mark says
I've used the nutritional information calculator from Calorie Count in the past. I don't know how accurate it is.
http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
Nava says
Thank you, Mark, that is very helpful.
Ann Marie says
The calculator is pretty accurate as long as you enter the ingredients by the brand (for beans for instance) and weigh the items well. It takes a little time to get used to when you want to do it fast but it's good and free. The calculator also grades your recipes according to how good they are nutritionally speaking - vitamins and minerals, nutritional density, low fat content and so forth. I can already see an A+ recipe here 🙂
clara says
Mark, none of this kind of tool are perfect, but you can try this more detailed calculator: http://happyforks.com/analyzer