Another recipe from Quinoa 365 and an easy favourite with Cam. I did shred a little mozzarella into the soup during the making and a little more served on top but Cam was happy without the second addition on his bowl. The recipe actually called for parmesan but I only occasionally buy organic cheddar or mozzarella and used what I had on hand. I’m curious if nutritional yeast may offer the same richness without the dairy. Instead of the spinach, I used kale and beet greens, again working with what I had on hand.
Most people who know me know that I almost never use stock in my soups, at least not in my vegetarian soups. Years being on a budget has meant that if I don’t make my own stock, then we don’t have it. I honestly haven’t noticed a difference when I use water instead of stock. That being said, for this particular soup I used some veggie stock I had in my freezer and I think it was better off for it.
Here’s how I made this simple delicious soup:
Quinoa Minestrone
- 1 cup Onion, diced
- 1 cup Carrot, diced
- 1 cup Potatoes, diced
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 14 oz can diced Tomatoes
- 3- 4 cups Stock
- 1/2 cup Quinoa
- 3 tsp Garlic, minced
- 1 cup Zucchini, chopped
- 1/2 cup Cheese (parmesan, mozzarella… )
- 1 cup Greens (spinach, kale, beet greens…)
- 2 tbsp Parsley, chopped
- In a soup pot, sauté onion, carrot, potato and salt until the onions are translucent.
- Stir in tomatoes, stock, quinoa and garlic. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 18 minutes or potatoes are tender.
- Add zucchini and half the cheese and simmer about 5 minutes.
- Stir in greens and parsley and cook until the greens wilt, about one minute.
- Sprinkle each bowl with the remaining cheese to serve.
Since you mention stock I have to tell you about one of my obsessions. Over a year ago I started making bouillon inspired by this recipe http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/homemade-bouillon-recipe.html
A couple of times a year I make a few jars to keep in the freezer and keep one in the fridge. A few tsps of bouillon in water makes the best stock ever. Perfect for a quick and comforting noodle soup or to replace stock in recipe in which I think plain water would not be enough.
Oh, that looks so delicious! Thanks, Steph.
Perfect weather for this tonight! I’ll try subbing nutritional yeast & let you know … x
yum! i’ve been making soups to freeze for winter – might try this one this week. all of that is growing in my garden (but for quinoa, which is in my pantry!)
I totally forgot that this blog was on my reader — so happy to see all these healthy food recipes now that I’m living on my own :)