Meatless Monday: Hearty Tuscan Bean Soup

When you’re on vacation, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to spend your entire morning cultivating the perfect afternoon meal. This one involved a brainstorming session in the vegetable garden at the Tuscan famhouse we rented, where we decided the best use for the fresh green onions, celery and peppers would be a hearty bean soup. The flavour was determined in the herb garden, where we chose which herbs to add based on smell. Next, we decided what was missing, and braced ourselves for another drive on Tuscany’s winding roads. Luckily, we arrived at the local coop in one piece, and collected the remaining ingredients for this delicious meal.

2 cups vegetable stock
3 potatoes
2 stalks celery
1 can of white beans
3 green onions
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup mushrooms
1 orange pepper
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Bunch of fresh sage and thyme

Chop and dice veggies. In a medium pot, heat olive oil on medium heat and add onions, garlic, peppers, celery and mushrooms. Caramelizing them a little bit before adding the stock gives the soup a great flavour. Next, add the potatoes and vegetable stock. Mix to combine, then add fresh herbs, salt and pepper. Let simmer for 15 minutes before adding the beans, then simmer for another 5 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.

Enjoy with fresh bread, drizzled with olive oil.

-Katharine Watts, Associate Web Editor