Cannellini Tomato Soup, with a whole LOTTA veges! I really tried to put as much vegetables in this thing as I could, while still maintaining the integrity of the flavour. I also like my soups to all have some protein as well as more than 2 vegetables – that way it makes them into more of a meal.
It’s a bit Italianesque with the cannellini beans and the fresh parsley and basil – all except for the turnip (some of you may call it swede), which you might think is a strange addition. But it works well!
I ate a lot of turnip growing up. My family was working class, didn’t have a lot of money, and we lived in a small town in the far north of England (i.e. middle of nowhere). So we fit the bill for this cheap and easily grown vegetable. (In the UK, turnip was seen to be a poor man’s food, as it was commonly used to feed livestock). It would commonly appear in our weekly Sunday roast dinners. And on Halloween my Dad would get out his cordless drill and carve out some turnip lanterns for us. Yes, not pumpkin lanterns – turnip lanterns!
(Pumpkins weren’t easy to come by in the UK in the 80s and early 90s, so it was turnips all the way!)
And now I’m bringing it back with this soup. It’s a vegetable rich in vitamins and minerals and when cooked, has a lovely subtle sweetness to it. It’s even better roasted! But that’s another recipe…
Cannellini Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1/2 tsp crushed garlic
- 100 grams turnip (swede) diced
- 1 carrot diced
- 2 medium portobello mushrooms chopped finely
- 1 zucchini diced
- 1 celery stick chopped finely
- 1 can cannellini beans washed and drained
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 1 tsp golden syrup
- 1 cab chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- handful fresh basil chopped
- handful fresh parsley chopped
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan on a medium heat. Add the chopped onion and crushed garlic, with a pinch of salt, and sauté for a couple of minutes.
- Add in all of the chopped vegetables except for the cannellini beans. Mix together and continue to sauté for another 5 or so minutes, stirring intermittently.
- Next, add the drained and washed cannellini beans, vegetable stock and the rest of the ingredients, including the herbs and seasoning. Mix in well, and then leave to simmer on a low heat for about 30-40 mins, until the vegetables are cooked. Stir occasionally to keep from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Serve hot, with your favourite choice of fresh bread.