Meatless Monday: Greek Cannellini Bean & Vegetable Soup

This is a light and refreshing soup that is nice in cold and warmer weather. This is a traditional Greek soup that has many variations, this is my version that has evolved over the years. It’s cheap, easy and delicious. This is my go to soup when I want something easy and healthy, you can use any vegetables you wish! If you are completing an eating Reboot you can omit the cannellini beans.   

Ingredients:
10 cups of water
1 cube or 1 teaspoon of vegetable stock
2 teaspoons dried oregano (or 2 Tbsp. of fresh oregano)
1 teaspoon sea salt and pepper to taste
2 bay leaves
2 celery stalks
1 sweet potato
1 cup of pumpkin
1 carrot
1 zucchini
2 kale leaves + stems
2 swiss chard (silverbeet) leaves + stems
1 cup dried cannellini beans (pre-cooked) or 800 g canned cannellini beans (BPA free)
1 clove of garlic

Soup Dressing:
Extra Virgin Olive oil to taste
1-2 lemons juiced
1 onion chopped
1 clove of garlic

Directions:

1.)    To pre-cook cannellini beans, soak 1 cup of dried beans overnight in cold water then rinse beans and simmer until cooked (1-1 ½ hours), drain.

2.)    Chop all vegetables into bite size pieces.

3.)    In a large soup pot heat the water, stock, oregano, bay leaves, salt, pepper, celery, sweet potato, pumpkin, carrot, zucchini, kale & swiss chard stems (leaves will be added in the next step).

4.)    Simmer until vegetables are cooked then add the remaining ingredients kale & swiss chard leaves, garlic and beans and simmer until all vegetables are thoroughly cooked and soup ready.

5.)    Serve into individual bowls and dress with each soup dressing ingredient to taste, a drizzle of oil, 1 Tbsp. of lemon juice, 2 teaspoon of onion and a small amount of garlic (optional).

Substitutions:

You can use any vegetable you desire or have in your fridge. This soup works well to have a range of color.