- Prep-time: / Ready In:
- Makes 8 cups
- Serving size: 2 cups
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This sunshiny soup is a celebration of summer produce. Zucchini, tomatoes, corn, green beans, and asparagus simmer together, creating a light yet flavorful broth. The grains add heartiness; for a light appetizer, you can leave them out.
Ingredients
- 2 onions, chopped (2 cups)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup 1-inch pieces green beans
- 1 cup ½-inch-dice zucchini
- 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup fresh or frozen corn
- ½ cup dry bulgur or quinoa, rinsed and drained
- 1 lb. fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 12 fresh basil leaves, chopped
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large skillet cook onions and garlic, covered, over medium-low 10 minutes. Add water, 1 to 2 Tbsp. at a time, as needed to prevent sticking.
- Add 6 cups water and the next five ingredients (through bulgur). Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 15 to 20 minutes or until bulgur is cooked and vegetables are tender.
- Add remaining ingredients. Cook about 2 minutes more or until asparagus is just tender and bright green in color. Garnish with additional fresh basil.
Nutritional Information:
Per serving (2 cups): 172 calories, 38 g carbohydrates, 8.2 g protein, 1.2 g total fat, 0.4 g saturated fat, 0 g cholesterol, 154 mg sodium, 8.2 g fiber, 10.6 g sugar
Note: Nutritional information is provided as an estimate only.
Comments (24)
(5 from 11 votes)Making this for my meat eating mother who had a widow-maker heart attach a subsequent triple bypass 4 years ago and just suffered a (minor) stroke. I read the other reviews and added some rosemary and thyme during the simmer (whole sprigs that I later took out). I used Plantstrong Sofrito broth (only 10 mg of sodium per cup). Increased the tomato and corn amount slightly (sweetness) and used fresh (picked today) corn. She loves her salt and cholesterol laden foods. It was my dinner tonight and very delicious. I will take it to her along with a few other prepared items when I pick her up from the hospital tomorrow. Hoping she will eat it without salting it. At least it will be good for the cholesterol (as long as she doesn't have buttered bread with it).
Yum!
What a delightful soup. It's like summer in a bowl. I was skeptical about summer soups, because it seems too hot out to want to eat a hot meal, but this soup is so light and delicate, it's refreshing.
I absolutely echo most of the sentiments here, this is a great start to a soup! I added a little more of the veggies. Also used veggie stock, some Mrs.Dash table blend, subbed shallots in place of the onion. I used 1\4 cup quinoa and a 1\4 cup pearl barley and it added some extra oomph. You could easily add spinach and a ton more veggies. I will try the chickpeas in there next.
Very good! I also used veggie broth instead of water and added chickpeas and additional spices.
Veggie broth makes it somewhat unhealthy with the huge amount of sodium in it
I believe I will do the same. I make my own veggie broth without any added salt. Not all broth contains salt Debbie.
This is a great recipe however, I made a few modifications. I saw a review that mentioned using vegetable stock and I roasted the corn and tomatoes in evoo, seasalt and fresh ground pepper. All the "meat eaters" loved MY soup and came back for seconds.
Can be imported directly into Cronometer. About 1146 calories.
Delicious, even my hubby like it and he is not a fan of soups! After reading the reviews, I did use vegetable stock, extra garlic, and Trader Joe's Mushroom & Company Multipurpose Umami Seasoning Blend to make it more flavorful. I also agree that it would be nice to have the macro information included in the recipes as it's just easier to keep track without using an App. This is definitely a good base to work off of!
it would be very helpful for people who are on a calorie controlled diet to have the nutritional values of each recipe.
Thanks for your comment, Marjorie. We have chosen not to include nutritional information for our recipes as we would not encourage nutrient tallying and calorie counting, which we believe can create more problems than they solve. The general guideline to follow is that, with a whole-food, plant-based diet, you can eat until comfortably satiated. The higher water and fiber content of whole plant-based foods allows our bodies to more accurately gauge how much food we need to eat. Whole plant foods contain all the essential nutrients (with the exception of Vitamin B12), and in proportions that are more consistent with human needs than animal-based or processed foods. However, we do understand that certain medical conditions do require knowing specific nutrient information, so for those instances we recommend entering our recipes into online nutritional software: www.cronometer.com. If you have a health issue or have concerns, be sure to consult a physician.
I agree with the other reviews that this is a great start but the soup needs more flavor. I added vegetable broth, red pepper flakes, poultry seasoning mix (sage, thyme, rosemary, nutmeg etc.). I also added some garbanzo beans. I also added a bit of salt when eating it. The veggies are divine though, and my husband and I both enjoyed it after my additions.
Tomato flavor was a tad bit strong so I tempered it with some butternut squash and also added white bean for added protein . Flavor enhanced with additional seasonings, thyme and cilantro. The family enjoyed it.
Great start to a soup- and definitely agree need to add some more flavor... to mine I subbed veg stock, added a bit more salt, lemon zest, thyme, basil and lots of chives. May be fun to try a version with turmeric and black pepper... or focus on flavors of lemon and mint... :)
I added some white beans to up the protein count with the quinoa. I'd also like more info about the nutrition in this delicious soup!
Yummmy
Asparagus is a spring vegetable and harder to get in summer. I replaced the asparagus with green beans.
I was thinking the same thing. Asparagus is long gone by the time tomatoes, zucchini, and green beans start coming on.
very bland. this needs more herbs.
I think I'll use vegetable stock instead of water!
Pretty good, made a few tweaks based on ingredients I had on hand....would appreciate baseline nutritional value I information.
Ummm, google it??
Plug ingredients into something like My Fitness Pal.