Sunday's Soup/ Twisted Green Bean Soup

My grandmother loved turnips. I did not, but I did love creamed potatoes. One day, she called us in for lunch. I sat down at the table and saw a beautiful bowl of what I thought to be creamed potatoes and proceeded to help myself to a nice big helping. Once everyone was served, I grabbed my fork, shoveled on a great big bite of what I thought was potatoes, and to my shock and dismay, it was creamed turnips. Uck!!! Well, taste buds mature, and I can't say that I love creamed turnips. but I do like the flavor they add when combined with other vegetables.

Another dish that my grandmother liked to make was a combination of turnips and green beans. I was recently thinking about her, and oddly enough I remembered the green bean and turnip combination. As I thought, I began to think that this might make a great bowl of soup. Guess what!, it does!!! With the addition of the sharp taste of the turnip, I decided to call the soup, Twisted Green Bean Soup.

Since fresh green beans have yet to make their way to the market, I used a bag of frozen beans. I knew that the true test would be my husband as he loves green beans, so either he was going to love it or hate it. Thankfully, he loved it :)

I began with a chopped white onion, and 4 stalks of chopped celery which I sauteed in a tablespoon of olive oil until tender.

I then added 2 finely diced cloves of garlic, the green beans, and 1 diced turnip.  

To thicken the soup and add a little extra protein, I added a 14.5 oz can of drained and rinsed navy beans.

I love the combined flavor of turnips and carrots, so I added 1 large sliced carrot. And if you look closely, you'll see that I also added a cup of chopped parsley. For added flavor I added 2 bay leaves. And finally, 8 cups of vegetable broth.

The mixture was then brought to a boil. The heat was then reduced to a simmer and allowed to cook for about 30 minutes.

Once the vegetables were tender, I pureed all but 1/4 of the soup. One more 14.5 oz can of drained and rinsed navy beans were added to to the soup mixture. 

The soup was allowed to simmer for another 30 minutes and then enjoyed!

Twisted Green Bean Soup

Yield: 6 large bowls

Ingredients

1 2 lb. bag frozen green beans

1 purple turnip peeled and diced

1 large carrot chopped

1 cup finely chopped parsley

2 cloves garlic chopped

1 white onion diced

4 stalks celery diced

2 bay leaves

2 14.5 oz cans navy beans drained and rinsed

8 cups vegetable broth

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

Heat oil in large pot. Add onion and celery and sauté until tender. Add garlic, green beans, turnip, 1 can of navy beans, parsley, carrot, bay leaves and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove bay leaves and puree all but ¼ of the soup in a blender. Return to pot and add the second can of navy beans. Reheat the soup and allow to simmer for another 30 minutes to completely combine flavors. Serve and enjoy! 

The soup will freeze well for lunches.

If you give it a try, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.