Soup in the Summer? Absolutely!
There’s quite a few reasons I pulled out the heavy dutch oven to make soup in August-
- I am tired of eating salad every day for lunch.
- The temperature in my office is about 45°.
-
A cold front is sweeping through Texas and temps are plummeting to 80°!
- Bowl food is very comforting, no matter what the season.
- I’ve been eating too much and need a healthy boost.
Most of my reasons don’t need an explanation. I want to elaborate on #5.
I’ve been working in the kitchen doing what I call #feedingaswimmer. I’m NOT training and competing like a swimmer, but I’m eating right there with him. Last weekend my son raced almost 4000 long course meters, not counting his warm-ups and cool-downs for each event. That’s a a whole lot of calorie burning.
You know what doesn’t burn a ton of calories? Sitting still in the stands watching my son swim. I need a healthy recharge.
A soup like this lets all the in-season ingredients shine. There’s no heavy spices or seasonings. Imagine the farmers market in a bowl. Since I’m still a bit obsessed with chickpeas, I add those with quinoa for protein to ward off the hangry-ness that comes out of me late afternoon.
A pot of this soup, and lunch is all set for the week. Super quick to pack and reheat. Filling and guiltless, so when the weather warms up I’ll be swimsuit ready.
80° has never felt so cold. I’m about 5° away from leggings and hoodies. I know you feel sorry for me.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil (or olive oil)
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 1/2 green pepper, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- 28 oz can diced tomatoes
- 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
- 1 zucchini, diced
- 1 yellow summer squash, diced
- 15 z can chickpeas, rinsed
- 1/2 cup dried quinoa, rinsed
- 1 cup baby spinach, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven, heat oil.
- Add onion, green pepper, celery, and carrot.
- Saute 5-7 minutes until starting to soften, not brown
- Add canned tomatoes and chicken stock.
- Cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring often.
- Add chickpeas and quinoa, simmer 10 minutes more.
- Add zucchini and summer squash.
- Simmer 15 minutes more.
- Stir in spinach and basil. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
- Serve with fresh Parmesan cheese or make mozzarella frico:
- Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat.
- Drop a tablespoon of shredded mozzarella (4 times spread out in pan) Add a couple pinches of Parmesan cheese and fresh cracked pepper over each mound.
- Let cook and once it starts to brown, using the thinnest spatula, start loosening the edges.
- Once it is crisp enough, flip each one so that the other side cooks.
- Remove to cool on paper towels to absorb oil.
- Serve on top of soup.
Leave a Reply