If you’re still stuck in your home, like we are, you’re probably trying to think of fun and interesting ways to use up all the shelf-stable pantry essentials you bought at the beginning of this quarantine. For our part, we stocked up on beans, and we’ve realized that we need to come up with new ways to prepare them after weeks of rice and beans for dinner. Luckily we found this recipe in the New York Times, which turns beans and some vegetables and herbs into a great and easy vegan soup.
To make this, you’ll need:
- Parsley
- 20 ounces of grape or cherry tomatoes
- Olive oil
- Thyme
- An onion
- Garlic
- Red pepper flakes
- White beans – either 2 15-ounce cans or 4 cups of cooked dried beans
- A pint of vegetable broth
To start, place all of your tomatoes in a bowl and gently mix with 1/4 cup of olive oil and a tablespoon of thyme leaves, plus salt and pepper.
Spread the tomatoes out on a baking sheet and roast at 425°F for 20-25 minutes, until they’re slightly collapsed and golden.
Meanwhile, slice your onion thin and place it in a stock pot or Dutch oven with another 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Slice 3 garlic cloves as well and add them in, along with a healthy sprinkling of red pepper flakes. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the onion begins to soften, then drain your beans and place them in the pot.
Add in your broth and bring everything to a simmer. Keep the soup warm until the tomatoes come out of the oven, then stir those in too and let them sit in the soup at a medium-low heat for another 10 minutes.
When you’re ready, ladle the soup into bowls and top with parsley sprigs.
We really loved this soup for a couple of different reasons: first, because there’s very little vegetable prep you need to do, so this soup comes together with minimal effort. Second, it’s a nice way to create a filling vegan lunch that makes creative use of some beans. But most importantly, it’s really delicious – the roasted, herbed tomatoes pair well with the beans, and simmering everything together in a vegetable broth makes the flavors blend well together. Soon it won’t be soup weather anymore, so make good use of all the beans you stocked up on with this great, easy meal.