Holiday Detox Vegetable Soup
With all the heavy eating and entertaining around the holidays, I need to have a vegetable-packed soup on hand as a digestive break from the rich foods, meats, and sweets. This is the thick, rustic soup I make. If I’m organized, I make a super big batch, even doubling the recipe, and freeze it. Sometimes, I serve it to company as a casual fireside supper. But mostly, I freeze it in small batches ready for quick weeknight meals. To me, this soup is filling enough, but adding a salad of spicy winter greens along with some crusty bread would certainly complete the meal.
Watch Diane's online cooking school video on how to make a great Holiday Detox Soup
Holiday Detox Vegetable Soup Recipe
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2 leeks, white and light green part only, cut into thin slices
2 large carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
3 ribs celery, trimmed, halved lengthwise, and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
6 cups homemade chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) peeled, diced tomatoes in juice
1 1/2 cups peeled, seeded, and chopped butternut squash
1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup small dried macaroni, such as elbows or shells
2 small zucchini, trimmed and cut into l/2-inch dice
1 red bell pepper, seeded, deribbed, and cut into l/2-inch dice
1 package (9 ounces) frozen Italian green beans, thawed (see Cook’s Note)
1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 tablespoons basil pesto, homemade or store-bought, at room temperature
Kosher or sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, preferably Parmigiano-Reggiano
In a 6-quart stockpot, heat the oil and garlic over medium heat, and allow the garlic to
simmer in the oil until fragrant but not brown, about 1 minute. Add the leeks, carrots, and
celery and cook, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender but not brown, a
bout 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock and the tomatoes and their juice, bring to a boil, reduce
the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the butternut squash, cannellini beans,
and macaroni and continue to cook, partially covered, for 10 minutes longer. Add the zucchini,
bell pepper, and green beans and continue to cook until the squash is fork-tender and the
macaroni is al dente, about 10 minutes longer. (The soup can be made up to this point, cooled,
covered, and refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen up to 2 weeks.)
Remove from the heat and add the parsley and pesto, stirring to distribute well. Season to taste
with salt and pepper. Serve hot and pass the Parmesan cheese at the table.
Cook's Note
If you can’t find frozen Italian green beans, also known as romano beans, which are wider and flatter than regular green beans, use frozen cut-up green beans instead. Do not, however, use French-cut green beans, because they will cook away. You can, of course, use fresh green beans if they are reasonably priced and tender, though winter isn’t generally the best time of the year to buy them.
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