eleven vegetable soup

we were so happy when the weather started to warm up and finally feel like spring in the end of april.  now that it's may, the weather reversed and it has been overcast, rainy, dreary, and cold for the past several days.  it's so gross and i would really like to see the sun again soon!

this cool rainy weather has me craving warm comfort food.  this week i made a big batch of soup for us.  we have been enjoying the leftovers for lunches every day at work.  knowing that you have a nice warm bowl of soup waiting for you is the perfect thing to get you through the morning.

i'm calling this eleven vegetable soup because, yes, there are really 11 different vegetables in this soup!  we loaded this soup with onion, shallot, carrots, celery, garlic, green beans, zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, kale, and tomatoes.

all of the flavors from these veggies blend together so well.  this soup is so delicious and so very comforting!

eleven vegetable soup
prep time: 10-15 minutes
cooking time: 45 minutes
yields: 8-10 servings

ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow cooking onion, diced
1 shallot, diced
5-6 carrots, peeled and diced
4-5 celery stalks, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups green beans, sliced in half
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 medium yellow squash, diced
8 oz. white mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
3-4 kale stalks, stems removed and chopped
1 can (28 oz.) low-sodium whole peeled san marzano tomatoes
1 can (28 oz.) low-sodium crushed tomatoes
4 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
1 cup water
1-2 leftover parmesan cheese rinds
1 can (15 oz.) low-sodium cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 teaspoons italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

directions:
in a very large soup pot over medium heat, warm the olive oil.  saute the onion, shallot, carrots, and celery until tender.  add the garlic, green beans, zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, and kale.  cook for 5 minutes.  add the tomatoes, vegetable stock, and water.  stir well.  add 1 or 2 leftover parmesan cheese rinds to the soup.  bring to a boil and then simmer covered for 20 minutes on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.  remove the parmesan cheese rinds and throw away.  add the beans and seasoning and cook for 5 minutes.  serve warm.

*recipe note: to make this soup vegan, simply omit the parmesan cheese rinds.

enjoy!

love, laurie