This is my favourite soup for a cosy winter night! It is so hearty and warms me up so nicely! Such a satisfying meal in the cold temperatures.
This soup really is a complete meal, as it contains some energy food (pasta), protein (beans), healthy fats (olive oil, chilli crunch, cashews) and loads of fibre and colour from the vegetables!
Ingredients
Serves 4-6
4 tbsp olive oil
300g kale, roughly chopped
2 onions, diced
3 large carrots, diced
3 celery sticks, sliced
handful fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
2 tins chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 cans borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
1.5L vegetable stock
4 cloves garlic, crushed
4 tsp smoked paprika
Salt and pepper
2 bay leaves
250g pasta (ditalini/macaroni/wholewheat fusilli/chickpea pasta)
To serve
Squeeze of lemon
Finely chopped fresh parsley
Chilli crunch
Toasted cashews/parmesan
Directions
1. Add the olive oil to a large heated saucepan on medium-low heat. Gently cook the onions, carrots and celery, with salt and smoked paprika, covered, until softened (about 20 mins).
2. Add the garlic, tomato paste and more salt. Then add the chopped tomatoes and stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Add the bay leaves and simmer gently for 30 minutes.
3. Add the pasta and continue to gently cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add the kale and borlotti beans and cook for a further 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and season with a good grind of pepper.
5. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls. Squeeze some lemon juice over each bowl, and top with parsley, parmesan, chilli crunch (if desired) and toasted cashews (if desired)
Notes: Feel free to switch out any kind of smaller shaped pasta. I sometimes choose a higher fibre pasta like wholewheat or chickpea pasta, depending on other opportunities I have had over the day.
If you are keen to add more variety from plants into your diet, soups are a wonderful way to achieve this in winter! Especially when its a soup like this that has not only veggies, but also legumes, wholegrain pasta and nuts as additions!
This is a fully vegan meal if you leave off the parmesan.
It's also delicious to add some crispy toast to dip in!
I hope you enjoy :) xx
For personalised guidance on making nutritious and satisfying food choices that suit your individual needs, book a consultation here: https://www.gabimeltzerdietician.com/book-online.
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