While I was at my parents house for the holidays, my Mom made three different kinds of soup from scratch. It was inspiring. Few things are more satisfying in the winter than a warm bowl of hearty soup. Before I came back to NYC, I scoured her cook books for the simplest recipes and copied them down. Here’s my first attempt:
Beans & Greens Soup
Made enough servings for a week’s worth of lunches
- 1 & 1/2 c. dried navy beans
- 1 T. olive oil
- 2 onions chopped finely
- 5 garlic cloves chopped finely
- 2 celery stalks thinly sliced
- 3 carrots thinly sliced
- 5 c. water
- 1/2 tsp. thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp. marjoram
- 4 oz leafy greens
- salt & pepper
Instructions:
1. Cover beans in cold water. Soak for 6+ hours. Drain. Put in pan and cover with 2 in. water. Bring to a boil. Boil 10 mins. Drain and rinse.
2. Heat olive oil in large pot. Add onion and cook 2-4 mins, until just softened. Ad garlic, celery & carrots and cook 2 more mins.
3. Add water, beans & seasonings. When mixture begins to simmer, reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 & 1/4 hours, or until beans are tender. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Remove pan from heat. Transfer two cups of soup to blender and puree. Mix back in with soup.
5. Cut greens into thin ribbons and add to soup. Serve.
It was so easy! And the ingredients were very cheap.
