Bean And Vegetable Soup

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 4 cups bread, day-old
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 medium carrots, coarsley sliced
• 3 celery ribs, coarsley sliced
• 6 cups broth
• 2 -4 cups cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 14 1/2 ounces chopped tomatoes, with juice
• 3 cups swiss chard, chopped
• 2 tablespoons basil, chopped
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
• salt
• pepper
• parmesan cheese

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 350 degrees. tear bread into bite-sized chunks and spread evenly on a rimmed baking sheet. drizzle with about 2 tablespoons olive oil, season with salt and pepper, stir and bake until toasty- 10 to 20 minutes depending on your preference. allow for the fact that they will harden some after they are removed from the oven.
• 2 in a large pot, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. add onion and garlic and cook until soft- about 5 minutes.
• 3 add carrots and celery and continue cooking, stirring frequently, approximately 5 more minutes.
• 4 add broth and beans and bring to a boil. reduce heat, cover, and simmer about 15 minutes.
• 5 add tomatoes and chard, cover, and simmer another 15 minutes.
• 6 just before serving, add basil, cilantro, salt and pepper to taste.
• 7 to serve, top each bowl of soup with several croutons. add grated parmesan if desired.