Eastern European "Minestrone"

 

I just noticed that I only had one post in the month of November - how time flies! I have a few recipes on the to-do list, but I am shocked that I only posted one recipe last month. At least it involved pumpkin beer, I guess.

Thankfully, it's now Christmas cookie season, so I'll be getting on that as soon as I can. I have a work trip to DC next week (two days of meetings, then visiting a friend for the weekend), so I might have another lag. But then cookie season will be in full force.

Back to the recipe for this post. This soup is really interesting and delicious - and it makes a lot. And it's super easy! I had this for lunch every day for one week, and it was tasty, but a bit much. I suggest sharing! This is another recipe from the Moosewood cookbook.

1.5 cups chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery (I left this out, since I wasn't able to buy 1 piece of celery)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2.5 tablespoons sweet paprika
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon ground caraway seeds (I left this out since we didn't have them)
1 cup diced carrots
3/4 cup green beans cut into 1/2 inch pieces (I definitely used more than this)
1/2 cup diced peeled beets, turnips, or parsnips (I used parsnips, 'cause I love 'em!)
3/4 cup diced red or yellow bell peppers (I just used one full pepper)
1 15-ounce can white beans, drained
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 quart (4 cups) water or vegetable broth
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 ounces whole grain linguine or spaghetti, broken into 1 inch long pieces
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

In a large soup pot on medium heat, cook the onions, garlic, and celery in the olive oil for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the paprika, bay leaves, and caraway and stir for a minute. Add the carrots, green beans, beets, and bell peppers, cover, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the white beans, tomatoes, water, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Stir in the pasta pieces, cover, and simmer on medium heat until the pasta is al dente, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the dill. Remove the bay leaves before serving.