ROMAN HOLIDAY SOUP (A vegan take on the traditional pasta and bean soup!)

ROMAN HOLIDAY SOUP

Comforting and delicious, this is what I worked on this weekend while making a painting of a rural farmhouse (image follows) on PE Island.  This soup is based on the traditional pasta and bean soups you find in stone cottage kitchens north of Rome. I served it with a rustic olive bread fresh from the Charlottetown Farmer's Market (with generous dollops of Earth Balance - vegan butter - and hummus).  It was beyond spectacular.  The red lentils are my new soup friend:  they thicken the soup right up and add even more great protein (so you can indulge in those bread carbs almost guilt-free because the proteins burn them right up!).  We're in the midst of a first snowfall today and the left-overs from this new gem are on the menu tonight!

2 med white cooking onions, chopped

6 cloves minced garlic

1/2 cup olive oil

1 (heaping) tsp dried oregano

1 (heaping) tsp dried basil

1-2 tsp dried red chilis

28 oz tin crushed tomatoes

small/6oz tin tomato paste

7 cups of water

 3 small/5 large bay leaves

14 oz tin red kidney beans

19 oz tin white kidney beans

1.5-2 tsp sea salt/to taste

3/4 tsp black pepper

3/4 cup split red lentils, washed

1 cup favourite pasta 

Italian flat leaf parsley and/or fresh basil for garnish

Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot until the onions become transparent - about five minutes.  Stir in the oregano, basil and chilis.  Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, the water and bay leaves and cook on medium high for five minutes.  Add the beans and stir to mix up well..
(Feel free to substitute and/or add navy beans, chick peas, black eyed peas, fava beans! - they are all delicious and good for you.  Use your favourite combination.  The idea is to go heavier on the protein-rich beans than the pasta and still have the wonderful 'comfort' of the combination of beans and pasta.  If you're using dried beans be sure to soak them over night and add another half hour to the cooking before adding the pasta.)  Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer, cover and cook about 15 minutes, allowing the flavours to blend.  Stir in the red lentils and salt and pepper.  Simmer gently, covered, until the lentils are mushy and kind of disappear into the pink/red goodness of the sauce-y base, about 25 minutes.  About ten minutes before serving add the pasta so that it remains al dente!

Buon appetito!

ROMAN HOLIDAY by SUZANNE O'CALLAGHAN

(Pottery courtesy/with thanks to "The People's Potter", Carl Phillis)

SUZANNE O'CALLAGHAN

"THE HUMBLE OF WINTER"

acrylic on gallery canvas

30.48 cm x 40.64 (12"x16")

2015