I must be a slow cook. Despite my countless hours of experience and reasonable ability, I seem to lack the skill of multi-tasking.
Recipes that other people claim take a particular amount of time will take be 50% longer, easily. I also seem to be able to use every pot in the house in the process.
The rules of Linda’s Tuesday Night Vego Challenge state that you need to be able to cook each meal in half an hour. I’ve been bending that rule slightly with consideration of my ineptitude, but this is a meal that I can genuinely whip up in half an hour. I did it tonight.
Tomato, Bean and Risoni Soup
(Recipe adapted from 200 Veggie Feasts by Louise Pickford)
- 800g canned, chopped tomatoes
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tablespoon chopped, fresh rosemary
- 1 litre vegetable stock
- 400g can cannellini beans
- 100g risoni (or other small soup pasta)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup basilpesto
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese (to serve)
Heat the olive oil in a soup pot, and gently fry the garlic onion and rosemary until softened.
Add the stock, tomatoes (I used 1 jar of my home-bottled ones plus 2 very ripe fresh tomatoes) and the beans. Bring to the boil. Simmer gently for a few minutes, then add the risoni and continue to simmer until the pasta is cooked, approximately 11 minutes.
Once the pasta is cooked, check for seasonings, then spoon into bowls. Add a spoonful of pesto to each bowl and grate fresh parmesan over the top.
The pesto I used was my home-made version without parmesan. To serve for Little D (with his dairy allergy) I used a vegan parmesan-substitute that I get from Vegan Perfection.
The texture is all wrong (a fine powder), but the taste is OK, particularly if you don’t know what you’re missing.
This was filling enough as a meal on its own, but I gave the kids a little bit of bread to dip in, just for fun.
For more fast and seasonal vegetarian meals, head on over to Linda’s blog.
500m2 in Sydney 
Yum, I make a soup very similar to this all the time. My 5 year old has started whinging about the beans in it though, they used to be her favourite thing….sigh….
This sure is a quick soup and healthy too.
I’m usually a slow cook too. I find cooking creative and relaxing, and I quite like to just amble along. But it is good to have a repertoire of fast, easy, healthy recipes for busy weeknights when you might otherwise be tempted to go for packaged convenience food or takeaway. I know there have been nights when I’ve looked at the pizza shop and thought, nah…by the time I wait, I can make something much nicer and healthier with what I have at home. This is a great one to add to that repertoire!