Mediterranean-Style White Bean Soup

This is a Mediterranean-inspired white bean soup, seasoned with spinach and fresh herbs.

Ingredients:

Handful of parsley
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 large carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon ground sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt
Black pepper
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cans CANNELLINI white beans, drained and rinsed under running water
2 cups spinach
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill, stems removed
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Instructions:

1. Prepare the parsley: Cut off the bottom of the parsley stalks and discard. Then remove the leaves from the stems – place the leaves and stems in two separate piles. Finely chop everything, just keep them in separate piles.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan (over medium-high heat). Add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 3-5 minutes or until fragrant. Reduce the heat if necessary – don’t burn the garlic!
3. Stir in the tomato paste, carrots, celery and chopped parsley stalks (don’t add the leaves yet!). Season with Italian seasoning, ground paprika and paprika flakes, a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are slightly tender (about 5 minutes).
4. Pour in the vegetable stock and beans. Increase the heat and bring to a boil. Cook for about 5 minutes.
5. Reduce heat and partially cover the pot, leaving a small opening. Cook for about 20 minutes or until the beans and vegetables are completely tender.
6. Partially puree the soup (optional – you can skip this step): Using a blender, puree about half of the soup. Do not puree all of the soup (to maintain some texture).
7. Stir in the spinach and cover the pot to warm and wilt the spinach (this will take 1-2 minutes). Stir in the parsley, dill and white wine vinegar that you reserved earlier.
8. Ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle with a little olive oil and a pinch of red pepper flakes.

Yield: 4 servings
Recipe: themediterraneandish.com