Clean-Out-The-Fridge Soup Recipe

Clean-Out-The-Fridge Soup

Serves 4

30 minutes or fewer

For her all-season soup, Deb Barley of Elizabethtown, PA, says you can use almost any vegetables for the add-ins—thinly sliced celery, sugar snap peas cut into pieces, cut-up green beans, or whatever you have on hand. Serve with bread and a tossed salad.

2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup thinly sliced scallions
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary or 1 tsp. dried and crushed
¼ tsp. crushed red pepper
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
4 cups vegetable stock
2 ½ cups frozen chopped spinach or other greens
1 ½ cups diced zucchini or other vegetable such as carrots, potatoes, etc.
12 cherry tomatoes, quartered (1 cup) or 1 medium tomato, diced
½ cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 ½ cups cooked small pasta (shells, bows, etc.)
1 ½ cups cooked lentils or other legume

1. Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Sauté garlic and scallions 2 minutes, or until tender. Add mushrooms, and cook 3 minutes more, or until mushrooms begin to brown. Stir in rosemary, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

2. Add stock and spinach, zucchini and tomatoes. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

3. Add corn, pasta and lentils; cook until heated; serve hot.

January 2005