Cannellini Soup with Leeks and Golden Beets

This soup was a hit with my parents!  It goes great with crusty bread and simple kale salad.

serves 4-8

prep time 10 minutes, cook 20 minutes

Ingredients:

2 T extra-virgin olive oil

2-3 medium golden beets, chopped

2-3 medium leeks, well washed, cut into 1/2 inch dice (about 4 cups)

1 low-sodium vegetable cube (or 1 cup of veggie broth)

1 cup water (do not use if using veggie broth)

2 (14-ounce) cans of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

2 tsp chopped fresh thyme

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

salt to taste

Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat and add leeks.  Stir constantly for about 2 minutes, or until beginning to soften.  Do not brown.

Increase heat to high, add beets, and stir another 2-3 minutes, until vegetables are nearly dry.  Add bouillon cube and water (or veggie broth) stirring to deglaze pan bottom.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to maintain a steady simmer.  Cover and cook 10-15 minutes, until vegetables are tender.  Liquid should be reduced to about 1/3 cup.

Add cannellini, thyme, and pepper, and stir very gently, to prevent crushing beans.  Cook an additional 2-3 minutes to allow flavors to meld; salt to taste.

recipe from: Delicious Living March 2011

Spicy Fall Stew Baked in a Pumpkin

We baked ours in several small kabucha squashes from the garden.  Also, I coudn’t find hominy, so I substituted chick peas instead.  I’ll list the veganized form of the original recipe here.

Ingredients:
2 Tbs. olive oil divided
1 med. onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1tsp. chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 lb. tomatillos, husked and quartered (I couldn’t find these and used regular tomatoes instead)
1 15-oz can hominy, rinsed and drained
1/4 tsp salt
1 3-to4-lb pumpkin, either sugar pie, cheese, red kuri, kabocha, or buttercup squash

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat 1 Tbs. oil in pot over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Saute 7 minutes, or until softened. Stir in chili powder, cumin, and oregano, and cook 3 minutes more, or until spices darken.

Add tomatillos, hominy, 1/2 cup water, and salt. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, partially covered, 10 to 12 minutes, or until tomatillos are softened. Uncover, and cook 5 minutes more to thicken stew, if necessary.

Meanwhile, cut top of pumpkin around stem to make lid. Scoop out pumpkin seeds and strings. Rub inside of pumpkin with remaining 1 Tbs. oil, and sprinkle generously with salt.

Fill pumpkin with stew, then top with pumpkin lid. Place on parchment covered baking sheet and bake 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until pumpkin flesh is fork-tender. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Scoop stew, includng pumpkin, into bowls and serve hot.

I love to eat this with a bed of spinach.

recipe adapted from: Vegetarian Times October 2008

French Lentil Soup

Serves 8
Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 large carrot, cut into a fine dice
5 plum tomatoes, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried tarragon
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
6 cups water or vegetable broth
2 cups French lentils
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Several pinches of freshly ground black pepper

Preheat a large soup pot over medium heat. Sauté the onion and carrots for about 10 minutes, until the onions have browned a bit. Add the garlic, tarragon, thyme, and paprika, and sauté for 2 more minutes. Add the tomatoes and a little splash of water if necessary, and stir to deglaze the pot. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the water, lentils, bay leaves, salt, and pepper, then cover and bring to a boil. Once the soup is boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and cook, covered, for about 45 minutes, or until the lentils are tender. If the soup looks too thin, uncover and simmer for a couple more minutes. If it looks too thick, add a little more water. Serve with homemade bread:)

recipe from: Veganomicon

Moroccan Chickpea Stew

Serves: 6
Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: ~10 minutes
Cook time: ~1 hour

Chickpeas are the main ingredient in this Moroccan flavored, hearty soup.

2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish
1 large onion, medium diced
6 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 heaping tsp (sweet) paprika
1 (14.5 oz) can chopped tomatoes
3 (15 oz ) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
1-quart vegetable broth (substitute water if no broth on hand)
1 tsp sugar
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 (5 oz) package pre-washed baby spinach (or 1 block frozen spinach)

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, sauté until the onions begin to turn translucent. Add the garlic to the onions. Lower the heat if browning starts to occur. Add the cinnamon, cumin, cayenne and paprika and sauté a minute or so. Add tomatoes, chickpeas, broth and sugar. Season with a couple p****es of salt and ~10 grinds of fresh pepper. Stir well. The chickpeas should be slightly covered with liquid. If the level is too low, add some water to bring it just above the chickpeas. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then lower the heat to low and gently simmer for 45 minutes.

Remove the soup from heat. Use a potato masher to mash up some of the chickpeas right in the pot. Stir in the spinach and let it heat through until wilted, just a few minutes. Season again, to taste, with salt and pepper. Serve the soup, drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil if desired.

Notes:
Great served with toasted pita bread.
Frozen spinach works very nicely.
Using water instead of veggie broth is totally acceptable and won’t alter the taste.
The s**ces can be adjusted if the flavor is too strong or too weak. Heat lovers can add more cayenne if they’d like more punch.

recipe from: Vegan a Go-Go podcast cooking show