I’m always looking for easier, faster ways to do things. Now that the weather is warming up, I don’t want to spend too much time over a hot stove. I eat a lot of “raw” foods in the summer to keep cool, but sometimes, I just want a nice, hot meal despite the climbing temps outside.
My shortcut for making soup in the summer is to just put everything in the pot at once, let it cook, and then eat it. No sautéing the onions and garlic first. No adding in one ingredient at a time. Just plop everything in and let ‘er rip. With prep and cooking time, this soup is ready in about 25 minutes.
For those following Dr. Fuhrman’s Eat To Live plan, with the croutons, this recipe complies with the life plan. If you leave the croutons out, then it also complies with the weight loss plan.
Ingredients (serves 8)
1 quart low sodium vegetable stock
1 14-ounce can unsalted diced tomates
2 14-ounce cans cannellini (white kidney) beans
4 large handfuls of baby kale (or lacinato kale roughly chopped)
1 large sweet onion – diced
2 celery stalks – chopped
2 carrots – chopped
3 garlic cloves – chopped
½ tablespoon Italian seasoning
¼ teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the Croutons
2 thick slices rustic bread – cut into 1-inch cubes
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
cooking oil spray
Directions
1. In a large soup pot, bring vegetable stock to a boil.
2. Place all soup ingredients except kale and salt in the stock, bring back to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
3. Stir in kale and simmer for another 5 minutes until vegetables are cooked. Add salt to taste.
4. To make the croutons, lightly dust the bread cubes with cooking oil spray. Mix the grated parmesan and garlic powder in a bowl and toss the cubes in the mixture until coated.
5. Place the cubes on a baking sheets and broil on high for approximately 5 minutes, turning occasionally to prevent burning, until toasted. As an alternative, toast the bread in a non-stick pan over medium-low heat.
6. Serve soup hot with freshly toasted croutons.
Leave a Reply