Eat Smarter USA | Eat Healthy. Live Smarter.
Ingredients
Vegetable Soup with Pesto
- For the pesto
- 1 handful parsley
- 1 handful Basil
- 1 garlic clove
- 7 Tbsps olive oil
- 1 ½ ozs freshly grated Parmesan
- salt
- freshly ground peppers
- lemon juice
- For the soup
- 10 ozs dried Borlotti bean (or cranberry, pinto beans)
- 16 ozs Zucchini
- 1 onion
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 8 ozs Peas (fresh or frozen)
- 26 ozs Vegetable broth
- 1 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
- 1 pinch sugar
- salt
- freshly ground peppers
For the soup, soak beans overnight with water.
For the pesto, rinse herbs, shake dry and pluck off leaves. Peel garlic and chop coarsely. In a blender, coarsely puree garlic, herb leaves and oil to make a creamy pesto. Stir in Parmesan and season with salt, pepper and a dash of lemon.
For the soup, add beans to a large pot with water, cook covered and simmer for about 1 hour. Drain when cooked. Rinse zucchini, trim, cut in half or into quarters and slice into 2 cm (approximately 1 inch) wide pieces. Peel onion and finely chop. Saute in a large pan with hot oil until translucent. Add zucchini and peas. Add broth and simmer for 8-10 minutes. Add 1-2 tablespoons pesto, add drained beans and season everything with vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. To serve, pour the soup into soup bowls. If desired, serve remaining pesto in a small bowl with a fresh multigrain baguette.
(Percentage of daily recommendation)
| Calorie | 254 cal. | (12 %) | ||
| Protein | 11 g | (11 %) | ||
| Fat | 16 g | (14 %) | ||
| Carbohydrates | 16 g | (11 %) | ||
| Sugar added | 0 g | (0 %) | ||
| Roughage | 4.5 g | (15 %) |
Healthy, because
Basil contains an enzyme which, similar to ibuprofen, has an anti-inflammatory and painkilling effect.
Even smarter
This vegetable soup with pesto makes for a delicious light lunch paired with some salad.