Wednesday, November 20, 2013
3 Tomato-Zucchini Soup with Kale, Yellow Squash, & Cannellini Beans (Topped with Parmesan Cheese & Pesto Drizzle)
First of all, congratulations to the two very knowledgable winners of the Fall Fun Contest! Your pumpkin and squash expertise is truly impressive! Hope everyone had fun with the contest. It seems that a lot of you did, since you gave me lots of positive feedback about it. So, because it was such a smashing success, I might hold another one next year, with new and different types of squash and pumpkins for you to identify, but of course. And who knows, maybe I'll even toss in a few edible gourds or two to make it even more challenging. :)
I realize it's been way too long since my last recipe (Oh my goodness! It's been since early September! Has it really been that long?!), but to be honest, I needed to take a little (OK, long) breather from cooking, recipe writing, and just writing in general. It's been about 2 years since I took any sort of serious break from writing, whether blogging or book writing. If you'd been going that long without a break, you might want to take a break from recipe writing too. :-D In fact, a few weeks ago, my sister made the comment, "I don't know how you've been able to keep pumping out recipes for these books. If I made that many recipes without any break in between, I'd probably never want to cook or write recipes ever again!" Hahaha.
Yeah, I was feeling a little bit burnt out, but realize that it's probably time to start posting some recipes again. Otherwise, I might continue my lazy streak of eating nothing but salads, hard boiled eggs, raw veggies and fruits (i.e., preferably ones that don't require any peeling), and cans of sardines. JUST kidding. Er, well, sort of. :) Here's a brief anecdote to illustrate my point: One morning, (a morning less distant that I care to admit - lol), I ran out of breakfast food but was so disinclined to cook that I took a head of broccoli out of the fridge, steamed it, and just ate that for breakfast. No spices, no herbs, no nothing. Yes, THAT is just how bad it got. Talk about lazy. :) (Yeah, let's not mince words. It was pathetic, I know.) I told my mom that story a few weeks ago and we had a good laugh about it. Well, even though a head of steamed broccoli isn't traditional breakfast food, at least it was healthy. And it was so filling that I wasn't even remotely hungry again until dinnertime. That's the great thing about cruciferous veggies. Lots of fiber. :)
But really, it was about time to climb back onto the horse again. So here I am again, back in action after 2 1/2 months, in case you were wondering if I was ever going to post another recipe here ever again. ;)
But really, it was about time to climb back onto the horse again. So here I am again, back in action after 2 1/2 months, in case you were wondering if I was ever going to post another recipe here ever again. ;)
Soooooo, let's talk about soup, shall we? I've been wanting to post a soup recipe like this for a while now. In the past, I've created various types of soup recipes with kale (e.g., kale-potato-leek soup, Azorean kale soup, tomato-basil with kale and various greens, etc.) and even another version of tomato zucchini soup, but nothing exactly like this. In addition to its full flavor and simplicity, the beauty of this recipe is that it only takes 20 minutes to make. So, without further ado, I give you.....
Tomato-Zucchini Soup with Kale, Yellow Squash, & Cannellini Beans (Topped with Parmesan Cheese & Pesto Drizzle)
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c. shallots, peeled and finely minced
1 Tbsp. garlic, peeled and finely minced
4 c. vegetable stock, divided
2 c. fresh kale leaves, stems and ribs removed
2 c. zucchini, diced (about 1 large or 2 medium zucchini)
2 c. yellow squash (about 1 large or 2 medium yellow squash)
2 c. vine-ripened tomato, diced
15.5 oz. can cannellini beans
4 c. water
8 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. fresh basil, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
Toppings:
shredded Parmesan cheese, about 1 Tbsp. per serving
pesto, about 1 tsp. (or more) per serving
Tomato-Zucchini Soup with Kale, Yellow Squash, & Cannellini Beans (Topped with Parmesan Cheese & Pesto Drizzle)
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c. shallots, peeled and finely minced
1 Tbsp. garlic, peeled and finely minced
4 c. vegetable stock, divided
2 c. fresh kale leaves, stems and ribs removed
2 c. zucchini, diced (about 1 large or 2 medium zucchini)
2 c. yellow squash (about 1 large or 2 medium yellow squash)
2 c. vine-ripened tomato, diced
15.5 oz. can cannellini beans
4 c. water
8 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. fresh basil, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
Toppings:
shredded Parmesan cheese, about 1 Tbsp. per serving
pesto, about 1 tsp. (or more) per serving
Directions: Heat olive oil in a large (8-10 qt.) stock pot on medium heat until shimmering. Then reduce heat to low, add shallots and garlic, and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Occasionally stir with a heat-proof spatula, then deglaze with 1/4 c. vegetable stock, using the sides of the spatula to release the fond (i.e., brown bits) from the sides and bottom of the pot. Continue to cook until stock has been reduced to a thin layer. Next, add kale, zucchini, yellow squash, tomato, and beans, followed by remaining stock, water, and tomato paste. Stir to incorporate. Turn up heat to high and bring to a rolling boil, (which will take about 10-15 minutes!). Then quickly reduce heat to low again and simmer for 5 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then add fresh basil and thyme, and cook for a final 5 minutes. Pour into bowls and top each portion with Parmesan cheese and pesto drizzle. Serve hot and enjoy!
Yield: 6-8 servings.
Yield: 6-8 servings.
3 comments:
Nom! I need this recipe in my life!
Looks really good
bubblegum casting
Thanks, Yum Yucky & Bubblegum casting! :-D If you make it, let me know how it turns out for you. It's super quick & easy to make!
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