white bean cassoulet

When the weather turns chilly, I turn to soup for dinner more often than not.  I love homemade soups, and they keep beautifully for leftovers; the flavors enhance over a couple of days.  Brian's all time favorite soup that I make is a white bean cassoulet that is actually vegan.  Yep, my carnivorous husband's favorite soup is vegan!  It is so delicious, and perfect for winter since it uses root vegetables.  An added bonus is that it does really well in the crock pot, so you can throw it all in earlier in the day, and have it ready later.  Which was perfect for us yesterday, since we had a busy evening with the little's Christmas pageant.  But if you aren't a crock pot user, it is just as delicious simmering on the stove top.

A hearty winter soup- adapted from Vegetarian Times

• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 4 small shallots, quartered or 1 medium onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 small waxy potatoes (I used red)
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced 
• 2 turnips, peeled and chopped
• 1 parsnip, peeled and sliced 
• 2 15.5-oz. cans great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 14.5-oz. can crushed tomatoes, not drained
• 2 cups vegetable stock or water
• 1 ¼ tsp. dried thyme or 3 tsp. fresh thyme
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste
• serves 4 

 First peel and then chop your vegetables coarsely.  Rowan tried to help my tasting all the vegetables first.  Don't worry, she didn't get a bite of the turnip.  But she sure tried!

 Don't judge my sad carrots.  I forgot to buy proper carrots at the grocery store, so I had to use what I had!  Saute the onions and garlic in olive oil until lightly browned.  Add your onions, vegetables, beans, thyme and tomatoes to your pot, and pour the broth over.

Sprinkle with ground pepper and stir.  Set your crock pot to low, and let it cook for 4 to 5 hours.  If you're using your stove top, you'll want it to simmer for at least an hour and a half.  So easy!  I can't say the littles are huge fans, but Rowan does like the beans and tomatoes out of the soup.  Fletcher kindly says, "No thank you."  Which is fine for Brian, since he'll eat it all in one evening!  I like to garnish mine with a bit of sour cream or Greek yogurt, and a bit of shredded Parmesan or cheddar on top.  Which of course takes it out of vegan territory.  

Hope you are enjoying some hearty soups and staying warm!  I'm just curious, what's your favorite soup?