Mixed Bean and Vegetable Soup

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Hi! My name is Kathy Maister…welcome to startcooking.com

Today we are going to make Mixed Bean and Vegetable soup from Good Housekeeping’s Complete book of Vegetarian Cookery.

It cooks in about 35 minutes and can be served as a main course.

The 1 1/2 pounds of root vegetables you have chosen… need to be peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks.

I’m using a parsnip, a potato and some carrots.

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Cut one red pepper in half and remove the stems and the seeds.

Then cut it into strips.

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Cut 2 stalks of washed celery into 1/2 inch chunks.

As does one medium onion

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Chop 2 small zucchini and 1/4 cup of parsley… then set it aside. They don’t get added until the very end of the recipe.

• Turn the stove on high heat … let your pan heat up for about 1 minute.

  Pour in 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and let that heat up.

  Add this mountain of vegetables to the pot!

  Using a wooden spoon or spatula…, stir the vegetables…

  Cook them for about 4 minutes…

  keep stirring, we don’t want anything to burn.

• Add 1 clove of crushed garlic.

  2 teaspoons of curry powder

  ...and 2 bay leaves.

  Remember to remove the bay leaf before serving.

• Continue cooking and stirring about another 2 minutes.

• Now add 4 cups of stock.

  There should be enough stock to cover all the vegetables.

  Bring the whole pot to a boil, ...then put the cover on, ...and turn the stove down to simmer.

  Set the timer for 20 minutes.

• When the timer goes off,
  add 1 can of red kidney beans and 1 can of black eyed peas which have been rinsed and drained.

  ...and cook the soup for about another 10 minutes.

  By now all the lovely flavors are melding together …and you can undoubtedly smell the curry!

• This next step is going to surprise you.

  Turn the heat off the stove.

  Remove the 2 bay leafs …

  and with a ladle… scoop out about 1/3 of the soup and put it in a blender.

  Yep, we are going to puree just PART of the soup. Be careful…the soup is really hot!

  Now pour the puree back into the pot. This makes the soup really thick and creamy!

  You could skip this step if you don’t have a blender,

• The last step is to add 2 chopped zucchini and 1/4 cup of chopped parsley.

The soup now only needs about 3-4 more minutes and it will be done!

• Slice up some crusty bread, and …

  Enjoy!

  You will need the following pieces of Equipment
  Cutting board
  Knife
  Garlic press
  Measuring spoons
  Can opener
  Stock pot
  Blender
  Colander
  Ladle

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  The ingredients are:
  1 T olive oil
  1 medium onion
  1 1/2 pound of mixed root vegetables
  1 1/2 pounds of mixed vegetables
  1 clove garlic
  2 teaspoons of curry powder
  1/4 cup fresh parsley
  2 bay leaves
  4 cups of vegetable or chicken stock
  2 small chopped zucchini
  1 15oz can of red kidney beans
  1 15 oz can of black-eyed peas