I have been on a bit of a vegetarian streak lately and while I have not cut meat out of my diet, I am happily eating a mostly meat-free diet during the week. Which also means I am now on the lookout for tasty, satisfying, vegetarian-friendly main dishes.
It’s also spring and therefore time to include peas, asparagus and other seasonal veggies in our cooking!
These were the thoughts swirling around in my head this weekend when I created this hearty, springtime veggie soup, chock full of white beans, peas, asparagus and bite-sized pasta.
Going gluten free? Leave out the pasta!
Like even more stuff in your soup? Add double the amount of peas, add 1/2 cup of corn or add a large handful of baby kale or spinach.
Don’t like cannelini beans? Swap them out for some chick peas or black eyed peas instead!
In short, you can put your own stamp on this soup so add and subtract away!
Ingredients
3 quarts vegetable or chicken stock
1 cup cannellini beans, rinsed
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
1 1/2 cups asparagus, cut into small pieces
1 cup small pasta such as tubetini, orzo or small shells
Directions
Bring chicken or vegetable stock to simmer in a large pot. Add peas and beans.
Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in a separate medium sized pot. Add pasta and cook 8 minutes or until al dente. During the last 3 minutes of cooking, add asparagus. Drain pasta and asparagus.
Add pasta and asparagus to soup.Allow to simmer 10-15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
