I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with your family and loved ones. Day after Christmas day we had a Blizzard warning here in the northeast, which meant stuck at home for at least a day. I immediately started thinking about what I’m going to make on a freezing cold snow day. A Tuscan style vegetable soup came to mind. I love this Tuscan style vegetable soup, its healthy & nutritious, also warms you up in no time.
An Italian soup which was favorite of the Romans. A frugal soup with simple yet nutritious ingredients, which is not so heavy on the wallet.
I used a homemade chicken stock which I made with boiling chicken breasts with bones, onions & garlic in a pressure cooker. I kept the flavors of the broth neutral, so I can freeze it and use it for a later use for soups & risotto recipes.
This vegetbale soup is full of vegetables and cannelloni beans, a good way to clean up your refrigerator and use up all of the veggies instead of going to waste. I used canned cannelloni beans which give the soup a creamy texture and a hearty taste.
RECIPE FOR TUSCAN STYLE VEGETABLE SOUP
recipe adapted from foodtv.com
Ingredients:
Serves 6
- 1 (15-ounce) can low-sodium cannelloni beans drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 large onion diced
- 2-3 stalks celery diced
- 1 small zucchini diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 1 cup cabbage, diced or shredded
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 32 oz homemade chicken broth or you can use store bought or vegetable broth
- 1 large tomato, diced
- 2 cups chopped baby spinach leaves
- 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan, optional
Directions:
- Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, cabbage, garlic, thyme, rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and cook stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender, about 5-10 minutes.
- Add the broth & tomatoes and bring it to a boil. Add the cannelloni beans and the spinach leaves and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 3-5 minutes more.
- Serve topped with good Parmesan cheese & a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
NOTE: To make the homemade chicken broth, in a pressure cooker add 4-5 cups of water, one chicken breast with bone, one medium onion, couple of garlic cloves, some salt & white pepper. Cook for 8 minutes, drain the soup in a sieve for a clear looking broth. You can freeze the broth for a later use.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
A hearty soup great for dreary blustery day like today! Thanks for sharing Sara abd Happy & Healthy New 2011 for you and your loved ones.
Sounds perfect Sara; I’m ready for a diet filled with soups and salads to balance the craziness of the holidays and this looks wonderful.
Wishing a wonderful New Year for you too; let’s find time to connect soon, OK? XOXO
wow lovely soup stay warm
Thank you Shulie, Barb & Rebecca!
Oh, I cannot wait to try this soup! It sounds like it’s a great way to get kids to eat their veggies too!
Looks great, but as long as you have a pressure cooker, you can pre-cook dry beans in it, too!
I love the photo!
L
hip pressure cooking
making pressure cookers hip again, one recipe at a time!
Hi Sara! Lots of wonderful dishes you’ve cooked up while I was away for 10 days!!! This soup looks so wonderfully comforting, I must bookmark this recipe for our colder nights in winter middle of the year. Yes, we are in completely opposite seasons at the moment, lol. It’s boiling hot here… lovely 28 degrees today. Summer in Melbourne is unpredictable though, we still have cold-ish days randomly which is a good break
Ciao Sara! Your soup looks warm and comforting. I bet it was delizioso! Your photos are beautiful, as always:) I wish you a Happy and Healthy New Year. I’m so happy we met this past year. Xoxoxo
A perfect Winter soup! So warming, comforting and highly enjoyable.
Happy New Year!
Cheers,
Rosa
This sounds perfect! During the winter I pretty much subsist on dinners of chunky vegetable soups that I throw together with whatever veggies I have on hand, the more the better and this soup is packed full of veggies! I look forward to trying this out soon.
Have a Happy New Year.
This soup would be both healthy and tasty!
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