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A Veggie-Packed Minestrone Soup For Spring

Phoebe Lapine
Author:
April 08, 2016
Phoebe Lapine
Food and health writer, chef & speaker
By Phoebe Lapine
Food and health writer, chef & speaker
Phoebe Lapine is a food and health writer, gluten-free chef, wellness personality, culinary instructor, and speaker, born and raised in New York City, where she continues to live and eat. She holds a B.A. from Brown University.
Photo by Phoebe Lapine
April 08, 2016

Whenever I’m thinking about affordable, healthy recipes, I always turn to ethnic dishes that are traditionally considered “peasant” food.

The Romans, in particular, were notoriously frugal. Many classic dishes like this minestrone soup evolved to be vegetarian or vegetable-centric by necessity. Instead of pounds of meat, this one-pot wonder is centered around just a few seasonal ingredients and rounded out with pantry grains or legumes for fiber, bulk, and hardiness.

You can easily make this recipe vegan, but my idea of a one-pot wonder caters to the omnivore with a little bit of everything: a modest amount of lean animal protein; fiber-rich budget-friendly beans; and plenty of spring fennel, carrots, and herbs.

If you can’t find chicken or turkey sausage at the butcher counter, you can always make your own (hint: you’ll save even more money this way and control all the additives)!

Simply take the ground meat and build flavor with fresh garlic and various spices like fennel seed, chili flakes, and dried herbs. You can even make your own homemade sausage in bulk and freeze balls of it to add to future soups and stews.

Spring Minestrone Soup with Turkey Sausage + Fennel

You can throw in some short-shaped pasta (I like quinoa elbows) or leafy greens (like chard or kale) to add even more variety and bulk to this one-pot wonder.

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ pound turkey sausage (preferably, a mix of hot and sweet Italian), casings removed
  • 1 small yellow onion, diced
  • 1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
  • 1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and diced
  • 2 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 (15-ounce) can diced or crushed tomatoes
  • 8 cups vegetable or chicken stock
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • ½ cup coarsely chopped or torn herbs (mint, basil, chives, parsley, or a combination)

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot. Brown the sausage over high heat, breaking up the meat with your spatula to form small clusters, until cooked through and beginning to crisp, about 4 minutes. Remove to a plate with a slotted spoon.

2. Add the onions, carrots, and fennel to the sausage drippings. Sauté over medium-high heat until soft, 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute, until fragrant. Pour in the tomatoes and simmer until the liquid is reduced and the tomato chunks have softened, 5 minutes. Add the cooked sausage, stock, salt, and beans to the pot. Bring to a boil.

3. Turn the heat down to medium and simmer for 20 minutes uncovered, until the flavors have incorporated.

4. Off the heat, stir in the herbs and taste for seasoning. Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and shaved Parmesan or pecorino, if you like.

For more recipe ideas, check out my MBG course How To Make Healthy & Delicious Meals On A Budget & In A Time-Crunch

Phoebe Lapine
Phoebe Lapine

Phoebe Lapine is a food and health writer, chef, speaker, and the voice behind the award-winning blog Feed Me Phoebe. She is the author of 4 books, including the forthcoming Carbivore, and her debut memoir, The Wellness Project, which was named by Women’s Health Magazine as the top nutrition read of 2017. An advocate for autoimmune disease and finding food freedom despite chronic illness, Phoebe’s work has appeared in Food & Wine, Marie Claire, SELF, Glamour, Cosmopolitan and Mind Body Green, who named her one of 100 Women to Watch in Wellness. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.

Read More About Phoebe Lapine

More from the author:

How To Make Healthy & Delicious Meals

Check out Learn How To Stock A Healthy Pantry & Meal Prep Like A Pro While Also Saving Time & Money

Learn more

More from the author:

How To Make Healthy & Delicious Meals

Check out Learn How To Stock A Healthy Pantry & Meal Prep Like A Pro While Also Saving Time & Money

Learn more
Phoebe Lapine
Phoebe Lapine

Phoebe Lapine is a food and health writer, chef, speaker, and the voice behind the award-winning blog Feed Me Phoebe. She is the author of 4 books, including the forthcoming Carbivore, and her debut memoir, The Wellness Project, which was named by Women’s Health Magazine as the top nutrition read of 2017. An advocate for autoimmune disease and finding food freedom despite chronic illness, Phoebe’s work has appeared in Food & Wine, Marie Claire, SELF, Glamour, Cosmopolitan and Mind Body Green, who named her one of 100 Women to Watch in Wellness. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.

Read More About Phoebe Lapine

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