It’s soup season, and I recently made White Bean and Black Olive Soup from The Moosewood Cookbook:
The aroma of this soup was the envy of a number of people near the microwave at work today. Here’s the recipe:
2 T olive oil
1 heaping cup chopped onion
1 stalk celery, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
1 to 1 1/2 tsp. salt (1 tsp. is fine with kalamata olives)
1 tsp. oregano
1 ½ tsp. basil
1 small (5 to 6 inch long) zucchini, diced
1 small bell pepper, diced
3–4 medium cloves garlic, crushed
Fresh black pepper
4 cups water
3 oz. tomato paste (1÷2 small can)
¼ cup dry red wine (optional, but a good addition)
2 cups cooked white beans
1 cup sliced kalamata olives (or plain black ones)
1 T fresh lemon juice
minced parsely and tomato (optional) for garnish
1) Heat the olive oil in a kettle or Dutch oven. Add onion, celery, carrot, salt and herbs. Sauté over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are just tender.
2) Add zucchini, bell pepper, and garlic. Sauté 5 minutes more. Grind in some black pepper.
3) Combine water and tomato paste. Add to vegetables, along with the remaining ingredients, except toppings. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes. Serve hot, topped with parsley and tomato.
I’ve sometimes made this with canned olives and without the wine, but you’re better off using the kalamata olives and a red wine you’d be happy to drink. They add a strong, pungent flavor to the broth.
All you need is some good French or Italian bread (and your remaining red wine), and you’ll have a great winter supper.
(Note that this recipe is also reviewed and reprinted on the blog Casual Kitchen, almost exactly a year ago. It’s a really good January recipe!)
Hi there and thanks for stopping by Casual Kitchen!
This is a great soup recipe, truly satisfying, healthy and best of all, easy to make. It’s recipes like this that make us practically bow down and worship our Moosewood Cookbook.
Best,
Daniel Koontz
Casual Kitchen
Hi Daniel,
No problem, and I enjoyed stopping by.
Sarah and I have been trying to eat vegetarian a bit more often. Sarah wasn’t sure about the idea at first, but after Moosewood’s Lentil Walnut burgers (and recipes like this soup), she was sold.
–Ben
Ben–
Can you bring some of this soup to practice? I swear I will be on time Tuesday if soup is involved!
–Dave
Hey Dave,
We finished that one off, but we’re off and running on the soups lately. Sarah just posted her Matzo Ball soup, and the next one we plan to make is white bean with two heads of roasted garlic. Maybe I’ll bring that one to pracice.
–Ben