Recipe Interlude

I’m getting this to you right away, as my restaurant shifts start tomorrow and I will have time for nothing but cooking up a storm and teaching fitness classes for a few days. Enjoy making and eating this delicious soup recipe.

Beans and Greens Soup

1/4 c good quality cooking olive oil

3-5 cloves garlic, minced course

2 bay leaves

1 red onion, diced

2 large carrots, diced

1/2 lb Baby Bella mushrooms, washed and chopped or sliced

Generous pinch red pepper flakes

1/2 c nutritional yeast flakes

5-6 c vegetable broth (I use plant-based low sodium bouillon cubes if I don’t have stock ready)

*2 sm or 1 lg can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained (about 4 cups) OR 3/4 # bag dried cannellini beans soaked overnight, drained and cooked tender with a 2” piece of Kombu seaweed

**1 large bunch Swiss chard, washed and chopped coarse, including stems after trimming, or other greens of your choice

Black pepper

Heat oil in stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add diced red onion and cook until onion starts soften. Add diced carrots and mushrooms. Cook 5 minutes more, stirring frequently. Stir in minced garlic.

Add bay leaf, vegetable broth and pepper flakes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer vigorously for 5 minutes.

Stir in nutritional yeast. Add cannellini beans and Swiss chard. Cover and simmer until chard is tender, about 5-7 minutes.

Add a generous amount of freshly ground pepper and serve.

This is amazing with raw garlic toast: Toast a nice, big crusty slice of bread. Rub the toasted bread with a clove of raw garlic, then drizzle lightly with olive oil.

*I suppose any kind of beans could be used, but for some reason, cannellini beans seem particularly well suited.

**Can substitute kale, escarole, collard greens or spinach. Because each type of greens has a different cook time. Make sure carrots are almost tender before adding spinach. Collards take much longer, so add those right after the garlic. Fresh collards are really best for this recipe. Whatever you choose, you will become as addicted as we are.