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Vegetable Soup with Savory Pesto

Prep time 30 min
Cook time 40 min
Total time 1 hr 10 min

Prep time 30 min
Cook time 40 min
Total time 1 hr 10 min

About

Last week my good friend Cara asked me to teach her how to cook. Finally! I was so excited and had been waiting years for chance to share my favorite activity with her.

While Cara loves healthy food and gobbles up everything that I make for her, she had never cooked before and did not know where to begin in the kitchen.

After an hour long shopping trip through Sprouts Market, exploring sections of the store she had never been before, we returned to my Real Healthy Recipes Kitchen for a 9-hour cooking lesson.

What a memorable day! Cara baked for the first time in her life (Lemon and Blueberry mini-muffins, almond bread, caveman cookies), made spaghetti squash gratin, cauliflower rice and even roasted a whole, organic chicken! She learned a lot…like how fresh rosemary sprigs are actually herbs and not grass — LOL…and in the end gained the confidence to follow a recipe on her own.

Cara’s favorite recipe of the day was this Vegetable Soup with Savory Pesto. She was surprised how quick and easy it is to prepare homemade soup from scratch, and how much more delicious it tastes compared to the store bought varieties.

If you are a fan of minestrone soup, but don’t want the carbs of beans and noodles, then you’ll love this all-vegetable alternative. The strands of cabbage mimic those of noodles and the pesto adds amazing flavor.


Serves 10
For the Soup:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

4 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1 small head Green Cabbage, thinly sliced

1 cup cauliflower pieces

3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced

3 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, minced

2 bay leaves

8 cups chicken broth

For the Pesto:

4 cloves fresh garlic

2 cups basil leaves

½ cup Walnuts

juice from ½ a Lemon

½ cup nutritional yeast

1 cup olive oil


Directions
For the Soup:
1

In a large soup pot, over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add onion, bell pepper, carrots, and garlic. Cook until the vegetables are tender.

2

Add the cabbage, cauliflower pieces, rosemary, parsley and bay leaves. After 5 minutes add the chicken stock. Allow to simmer, covered for 20 minutes then season with salt and pepper.

For the Pesto:
1

In a food processor, combine the garlic, basil, walnuts, lemon juice and nutritional yeast. Pulse until all ingredients are mixed in. With the blade spinning, slowly pour in the olive oil. Continue to blend until the mixture is smooth.

2

Fill each soup bowl with the soup and top with a generous spoonful of the pesto.


Nutrition

Calories: 170
Fat: 11g
Carbohydrates: 10g
Sodium: 182mg
Fiber: 4g
Protein: 5g
Sugar: —

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