Terrific Tuscan Vegetable Soup Recipes

Steps:

• In a small bowl mash half of the beans with a masher or the back of a spoon, and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, garlic, thyme, sage, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and cook stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
• Add the broth and tomatoes with the juice and bring to a boil. Add the mashed and whole beans and the spinach leaves and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes more.
• Serve topped with Parmesan, if desired.

Steps:

• In a small bowl mash half of the beans with a masher or the back of a spoon, and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, garlic, thyme, sage, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and cook stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
• Add the broth and tomatoes with the juice and bring to a boil. Add the mashed and whole beans and the spinach leaves and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes more.
• Serve topped with Parmesan, if desired.

Steps:

• Start with at least a 6 quart pot.
• Empty both cans of tomatoes, stewed and diced, into the pot, using a little tap water in each can to swish around and get everything out.
• Use your bare hands to squash up the tomatoes a bit smaller than they already are, just so the chunks aren't giant.
• Add water from the tap. Start with less than you think you need as you can always add more; you want plenty of room for vegetables. 8 cups is a rough estimate of what I usually use.
• Turn burner to medium-high, add the can of tomato sauce, Italian seasoning (I use Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute) bouillon (I use Better Than Bouillon) and the bay leaves. NOTE: If you are using a different type of broth/bouillon just follow the product instructions or your own taste to get about 8 cups of broth to start your soup.
• Get out your favorite chef's knife and cutting board. Start with the carrots, celery, and onion. This is your mirepoix. Coarsely chop everything into large, bite sized pieces. A diagonal cut makes the carrots and celery extra pretty in the soup. (You may sauté these veggies first in olive oil or butter but in my experience it hasn't made a discernible difference so I just toss them into the soup and enjoy the ease and time saved.).
• Once your mirapoix is in with the herbs and spices flavoring the broth, you can put on some music or a podcast and just start chopping things and throwing them into the soup at your leisure. Usually spinach goes in last, but at this point it matters very little in which order you add the ingredients to the soup.
• NOTES ON CHOPPING THE VEGGIES: It's best to strip the kale leaves from their thick stalks before chopping the leaves up. Most of these veggies will be a pretty coarse chop--if you do a finer chop you may want to shorten the cooking time so they don't get mushy. Slice everything you can (green beans, carrots, celery) on the diagonal. It looks pretty and they cook up nicely without breaking apart.
• Once all the veggies are in, adjust broth level as needed by adding water and bouillon if you need to. Simmer for 45 minutes or until veggies are tender but not mushy.
• Add salt and pepper according to your taste. A little red pepper flakes or cayenne adds a nice kick too.
• Keep an eye on the temperature. Once the soup starts bubbling you can turn it down to low and put a lid on the pot. I usually keep the lid cracked, propped open by a wooden spoon so it doesn't get too hot. You want to keep it at a calm simmer, not a boil.
• Add rinsed kidney and butter beans. (Can be subbed out for almost any other canned beans. Even frozen lima beans are excellent in this.) Simmer another 10-15 minutes.
• IF YOU ADD PASTA: cook the pasta in a separate pot when your soup is already about done. Get it al dente and drain it. Add it at the very end. This way it won't soak up your precious broth as it cooks.
• You may serve this soup almost immediately but it definitely benefits from sitting out a while after it's done. I recommend letting it stand at least 20 minutes. Serve it topped with shaved/grated hard Italian cheese and cracked pepper and/or fresh parsley.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mash half of the beans with a fork, masher or the back of a spoon, and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, garlic, thyme, sage, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and cook stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
• Add the broth and tomatoes with the juice and bring to a boil. Add the mashed and whole beans and the spinach leaves and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes more.
• Serve topped with Parmesan, if desired.

Steps:

• In 2-quart saucepan, place eggplant, water, tomatoes with their juices, mushrooms, garlic, zucchini, Italian seasoning, 1/4 t salt and 1/8 t freshly ground black pepper; stir to combine.
• Heat to boiling on high.
• Cover; reduce heat to low.
• Simmer 25 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
• To serve, ladle soup into 4 shallow soup bowls; sprinkle with Parmesan.

Steps:

• Place the toasted bread in two soup bowls.
• Place the onion and celery in a 3-quart, heavy-bottomed, nonreactive pot. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and stir to coat. Cook over a medium-low heat, or until the onion is translucent but not brown. Add Swiss chard (or porcinis, if using) and stir briefly to wilt. Add hot pepper, tomatoes, and simmering water. Season lightly with salt and cook over a low heat (barely a simmer) for 20 minutes, until vegetables are very soft.
• As vegetables are cooking, bring about an inch of water and a half teaspoon of salt to a boil in a deep skillet. At the end of the vegetables' cooking time, turn the skillet heat down to a gentle simmer. Add the parsley to the soup.
• Break the eggs into a small bowl, one at a time, and slide them into the simmering water. Cook for about 3 minutes, until the whites are set, but the yellow is still runny. When done, use a large slotted spoon to place one egg on each toast slice in bowls. Ladle broth and vegetables over each egg and top with a generous sprinkling of the cheese.

Steps:

• In 2-quart saucepan, place eggplant, water, tomatoes with their juices, muchrooms, garlic,zucchini, italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. Heat to boiling on high.
• Cover; reduce heat to low. Simmer 25 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
• Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.