8/08/2009

Cleansing Tomato White Bean Soup

Lately, I've been craving simple meals, full of flavor, and fresh seasonal ingredients.


Too often, meals are complicated by an overabundance of ingredients, prepackaged sauces and seasonings, and over-processed flours, preservatives, etc.

Not this one. This one was perfect and clean. Eating it I felt fresh and renewed. Isn't it amazing how food can change your mood and make you feel completely different from how you felt before, relaxed, better, or uncomfortably worse? For this reason, I want to eat only foods that make me feel clean and alive.

Tonight, I cooked a beautiful soup, adapted from Cucina Nicolina.



White Bean and Tomato Soup

2 large cloves garlic, minced
4 cups spinach, coarsely chopped
1 can crushed tomatoes (or 3 tomatoes, diced, juices reserved)
4 cups vegetable broth or water (I used water with low sodium vegetable bouillon)
2 Tb. dried basil
1 can white beans
salt and pepper to taste
Saute the garlic in olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes, broth or water, dried basil, and beans. Stir well to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Add the spinach, and simmer until wilted. Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer, half-covered, for about 15 minutes. Serve hot.
Serves 4.
Add two slices of good Tuscan bread, and you've got a meal. Perhaps vanilla bean ice cream for desert....

1 Responses (Leave a Comment):

Unknown said...

After I talked to you and your dishwasher today, I had to come look up this recipe. It sounds delicious. The recipe that I was making while we were talking is actually quite similar. Add some sauteed mushrooms and green onions and substitute orzo for the white beans. The beans sound better...and the ice cream sounds divine.