Who on a cold wintry day, would not find a nice hot bowl of minestrone soup appealing? It is so nutritious and warming, and created as in recipe below, can serve as a one pot meal in itself. This recipe does not include tomatoes, which are acidic and cooling to the body, but if you must add ground peeled tomatoes, you might want to omit the soy sauce and add a few pinches of sea salt instead.
Ingredients: *What are these foods?
- 1 lb. Ditalini pasta (or similar size) precooked
- 2 cups red kidney beans, washed well and pre-soaked
- 1 inch kombu*, washed soaked until soft, diced
- 1 medium sized onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 1 stalk celery, cut ½ lengthwise, diced
- 3-4 slices dried lotus root*, soaked, diced (save soaking water for soup)
- 4 leaves kale, cut into ½ inch pieces
- ½ leek, sliced thinly on diagonal (wash very well between each leaf)
- Finely chopped parsley for garnish
- Shoyu or tamari* for seasoning
Directions:
- Soak beans.
- Add kombu, beans, and approximately 6 cups water to soup pot, bring to boil uncovered.
- Lower to simmer, cover and cook until beans are soft. Add lotus root after the beans have cooked for about 1 hour.
- Add onions, cook for 1 minute, and then add remaining vegetables, except the leeks.
- Add shoyu to season (do not make salty), and continue to simmer until soft.
- Add leeks in the last 5 minutes of cooking.
- Put pasta in a soup bowl, pour soup over the pasta and garnish with parsley.