I've recently decided to go mostly veggie, eliminating most meat from my diet. But something that's more than necessary in the cold months, especially when flu season is about, is a good chicken soup alternative. This is it. I don't know how or why, but this is the most satisfying soup when you're feeling under the weather - warm, filling, and soothing.
The below recipe will serve around 4-5 people.
Ingredients
1 white onion
1 stick celery
3 cloves garlic
1tsp fresh grated ginger
1 large courgette
2 carrots
110gr dried cannellini beans (or 1 can)
1 pint vegetable stock
Tbsp chopped parsley
45gr butter (or margarine, if vegan)
65gr plain flour
10tbsp double cream (or cream alternative, if vegan)
250gr spinach and ricotta tortellini (or vegan alternative)
Method
1. Soak the dry cannellini beans in around 500ml of warm water for 2-3 hours, or overnight. The beans should just about double in size.
2. Chop the onion and celery finely, and crush the garlic. Set aside. Chop the carrots and courgette into half moons, set aside.
3. In a large pot heat up some olive oil. Sweat the onion then add the celery and cook for a further 2-4 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger, cooking until fragrant. Add the courgette, carrots, and cannellini beans. Mix and cook for about 5 minutes.
4. Pour in the vegetable stock. Add in the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Allow to simmer for around 20-30 minutes, or until the vegetables and beans are just about cooked through.
5. In a small pot, melt the butter over low heat. Whisk in the flour until a thick paste forms. Add the cream and whisk further. Add the slurry to the soup. Cook for a further 10-15 minutes. The soup will thicken and become extremely creamy. Add more water if it gets too thick.
6. In a medium pot, boil the tortellini. If serving all the soup in one sitting, you can also boil the tortellini in the soup, however, if you're making leftovers, I highly recommend only boiling as many tortellini as needed for one sitting (around 8-12 per person). This stops the tortellini from going too soggy in the soup if planning for leftovers.
7. Serve the soup, adding the tortellini on top. Ensure the soup is piping hot!
Recreating this recipe? Tag me on instagram @juliawgr!
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