Ingredients:
Serves 6-8

Beans

  • 3-15oz cans Cannellini Beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 clove Garlic
  • 2 Leaves Basil, fresh
  • 3 sprigs Italian Parsley, fresh, stems removed
  • 2 Tbsp Olive Oil, Extra Virgin
  • 3 ½ qts Water

Soup

  • 2 lbs Kale, Escarole, or Spinach, fresh
  • 3 Stalks Celery, coarsley chopped
  • 10 sprigs Italian Parsley, fresh, chopped, stems removed
  • 2 cloves Garlic, chopped
  • 4 Roma Tomatoes, fresh, cubed
  • 1 cup dried pasta (macaroni or shells)
  • 1/4 cup Olive Oil, Extra Virgin
  • To Taste Black Pepper, ground

Serve with Side Salad:

  • 4-6 cups Lettuce, your choice for salad
  • 2 cups Vegetables, fresh, chopped – your choice for salad
  • 1 cup Salad Dressing, your choice
Soup is a wonderful way to load up on nutrients while giving you an instant feeling of real, down-home cooking!

Directions:

  1. To prepare beans: Wrap the garlic clove, 2 basil leaves and 3 sprigs parsley in a piece of cheesecloth, tie the ends to create a sachet. Place beans in a medium sized stock pot (be sure it’s large enough for the entire recipe as you’ll add the vegetables to this same pot). Add water, olive oil, and herb sachet. Simmer for 20 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, soak the greens and whole vegetables in cold water for 3o minutes.
  3. Remove vegetables from water, rinse, and chop.
  4. Remove sachet from beans. Add greens, celery, parsley, garlic, tomatoes, and oil. Simmer for 20 minutes.
  5. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper to taste.
  6. To prepare side salad: Toss lettuce and your choice of vegetables in a large bowl. You can serve and let everyone put their own amount of dressing on their salad. Or, toss the salad with the dressing and serve in bowls.

Cook’s Note: Soak the greens and other whole vegetables in cold water for 30 minutes. This allows for thorough cleaning of dirt, pesticides, and bacteria picked up during growing or harvesting.

Soak produce whole because fewer cut surfaces when cleaning means fewer vitamins will leach out into the water.

After soaking and before chopping, run under water. This removes chemicals that are in the soaking water.

Did you know you can freeze soup and enjoy later…up to 3 months! What a great way to make meal planning simple!

Discover this recipe and more in our Food4Life Meal Plans