This soup is full of so many different vitamins & nutrients! The beans add protein and fibre & the spices just top it off. I served this with some homemade crispy tortilla chips by slicing up some store bought soft tortillas into triangle shapes, laying them out on a very lightly oiled baking sheet & seasoning lightly with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bake the tortillas in a 350F oven for about 10 minutes (keep an eye on them so they don't brown).This is a vegan recipe & makes a complete meal.Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive or canola oil
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 an onion, chopped
1 large sweet red bell pepper, chopped
1 sweet potato, scrubbed and chopped into one inch pieces
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1 head of broccoli, barky part of stem removed & remaining stem peeled, chop everything and you want the flowers to be fairly small
2 large portobello mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
4 cloves of garlic, chopped (or two teaspoons of garlic powder)
1 19 oz can of 3 bean medley, rinsed and drained
1 19 oz can of white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
5 cups of water (or you can use 1 cup of low sodium vegetable broth and 4 cups of water)
1/2 tsp sea salt & 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp dry chili peppers (or to taste)
1 tsp picante hot sauce
1 tsp chipotle hot sauce
2 tsps chopped parsley
Directions:
1. In a large heavy saucepan, heat one tbsp oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and sweet pepper and saute until softened. Add all ingredients, except parsley & stir softly. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally. Add parsley and stir.
2. Remove 2 cups of the soup and put it through the food processor or blender until well pureed. Return this to the soup pot and stir---this will thicken the broth. Serve in large bowls and scoop with toasted tortilla chips or a spoon. You can also sprinkle a tsp of parmesan cheese over the soup in the bowls (of course then it would not be vegan).
