Spring officially began on Tuesday, but yesterday it snowed. I am scratching my head over this crazy weather. The weather here in the mountains seems to suffer from serious mood swings. It’s truly like a box of chocolates…ya never know what you might get.
Since it seems like winter isn’t quite ready to give up its hold, I thought I would share this recipe for Lemony White Bean Soup with Spinach. It will be the perfect soup to take you right into Spring while keeping you warm on chilly nights.
I was inspired to make this soup by Laura’s recipe over at The First Mess and by Julie’s recipe over on the Simple Veganista. I took the flavors and ingredients from both and did my own riff on a lemony, herb-infused, vegan-friendly soup. It’s packed with healthy veggies and it’s hearty enough to satisfy omnivores as well.
I added potatoes to add a little starchiness to the broth. I also decided to blend up a part of the soup to make a creamy base. So, it’s a creamy soup without any cream at all. Fabulous. My vegan friends will love this.
The added bit of lemon juice at the end is the perfect splash of acid that will bring out all of the lovely flavors in this bowl of goodness. It compliments the freshness of the spinach, too. Did you know that acid stimulates your taste buds and balances flavors? So many times, I can make a dish taste 100 times better just by adding a little squeeze of lemon or a splash of vinegar. It certainly makes what could be a bland bean soup into a SOUP-ER tasty recipe. Give it try the next time you are making something savory and you will find it adds a little somethin’ somethin’.
If you want to make a meal out of this lemony soup, just add a roasted vegetable such as Garlic Roasted Artichokes or maybe a sandwich like this Bacon Avocado Grilled Cheese. For a light meal, consider pairing it with a good green salad.
Give this Lemony White Bean Soup a try, too! I would love to know what you think!
Lemony White Bean Soup with Spinach
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 1 medium carrot small diced
- 1 celery rib with leaves diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- chili flakes to taste
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary minced
- 2-3 medium sized potatoes peeled and cut into ½” chunks
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 2 15- ounce cans of cannellini beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup water optional
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- sea salt & ground black pepper to taste
- 3 cups packed baby spinach
Instructions
- In a large stock pot or dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
- Add onion, carrot and celery. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until veggies are softened. Add garlic and saute 1 minute.
- Add rosemary and chili flakes. Stir and cook about 1 min.
- Add vegetable broth and potatoes. Bring to a slight boil, then turn down heat. Simmer for 8 minutes.
- Add the beans, and continue to simmer for about 5 more minutes.
- Ladle about half of the soup into a blender. Carefully blend just until creamy. Return mixture to the pot.
- Add spinach to the soup, turn down heat to low and cook until spinach just starts to softens.
- Add lemon juice and salt & pepper to taste. Add extra water/broth as needed.
