Spring Vegetable and Bean Soup

OK, I know what you're thinking... SOUP?! Seriously Jen in the summer, SOUP?? Every so often there's a cloudy day, right? Even if there isn't, this soup is THAT good!

Enjoy.

Spring Vegetable Soup

from Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Cookbook

2 carrots

2 celery stalks

2 medium onions

2 cloves of garlic

1-3/4 quarts of chicken/veggie broth ( I used 8 cups)

olive oil

1 x 15oz. can of Cannellini beans (we use red kidney beans)

2 cups cauliflower

2 cups broccoli

7 cups spinach leaves

2 large ripe tomatoes

sea salt & freshly ground pepper

extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Peel and roughly slice the carrots; slice the celery. Peel and roughly chop the onions. Peel and slice the garlic.
2. Put the broth in a saucepan and heat until boiling. Put a large saucepan on medium heat and add 2 TBL of olive oil. Add all your chopped and sliced ingredients and mix together with a wooden spoon. Cook for around 12 minutes, with the lid askew, until the carrots have softened but are still holding their shape, and the onion is lightly golden.
3. Meanwhile, drain your beans. Break up the cauliflower and broccoli into small florets. Roughly chop the spinach. Quarter the tomatoes, removing any stalks.
4. Add the boiling broth to the vegetables in the pan. Add your cannellini beans, cauliflower, broccoli and quartered tomatoes. Give the soup a good stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or slightly more.

To Serve Your Soup:

1. Add the spinach to the pan and cook for a further 30 seconds, then remove the pan from the heat. If you like your soup a little less chunky, you can take out half of it, blend it (using our favorite tool, the immersion blender) then stir it back into the pan. (If using an immersion blender, there’s no need to take out the soup for blending and returning to the pot.)
2. Season carefully with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into serving bowls and finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Serves 6 to 8