Simple yummy soup

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone!

 

It's been chilly and rainy in my neck of the woods (San Francisco), so

I've been making a lot of hot foods like roasted veggies and soups.

 

Today I made a very, very simple soup that's mild and yet very tasty.

I got the idea from a woman at my farmer's market. I bought some

parsnips (which I was going to roast), and she said she had made some

vegetable soup with them and really enjoyed it.

 

Well, I'd never thought of using parsnips in a soup and decided to try

it. The soup ended up being nicely sweet and comforting; I think it'd

also be good if I weren't feeling well.

 

INGREDIENTS:

* 2 cups/1 pound (1/2 kg) of dried white beans (I used marrowfat)

* 2 stalks celery, chopped

* a 2 or 3-inch/5-8cm length of fresh ginger, sliced into thick disks

* 1 large onion, chopped

* 1-2 tablespoons oil

* 6 large carrots, chopped into 1/2-inch/1.5cm chunks (I used 2

varieties)

* 6 large parsnips, chopped into 1/2-inch/1.5 cm chunks

 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Soak & drain beans. If you know they're fresh (that is, from this

year's crop), soak for 2 hours. If you got them at the supermarket,

soak for 4-6 hours. After soaking, drain.

 

2. Put beans and enough water to cover by a finger length, bring to

the boil. Turn heat down to low-moderate. Add chopped celery and

ginger to the pot and continue to cook until the beans can be chewed

but are not mushy. This takes anywhere from 1 hour to 2 or more.

 

3. While beans are cooking, saute onions in oil until they're soft

but not browned. Add cooked onion to soup pot.

 

4. Add a little more oil to the saute pan and saute the carrots &

parsnips over moderate heat just enough so they begin to soften but

don't brown. Add carrots & parsnips to soup pot.

 

5. Continue cooking the soup until the beans are tender. The liquid

will thicken a bit as it cooks.

 

One thing I tend to do with veggie soups is to add fresh chopped

greens to the portion I'm heating up for myself. The greens stay

vibrant this way and give me the option to increase the veg and also

to vary it. I'll use spinach or kale or chard, whatever I have on hand.

 

If you try it, let us know how you like it! I only wish it would work

in a cute little bento like Heather's!! Cinzia