Full disclosure, I pulled this recipe right from Whole Living. I was in need of a good soup recipe with simple ingredients that would fill me up — and be something that I’d want to eat several days in a row. After a brief look through my recipe binder — plastic cover sheets filled with torn-out pages from various magazines, complete with beautiful food photos — I settled on this gem. And why?

1. It could be made very quickly.
2. The ingredients were inexpensive.
3. It looked hearty, warming, and scrumptious.

I liked it so much, I made it twice this week! The second round I threw in some spinach for a bit of a green factor, and it was even more enjoyable. 

White Bean and Veggie Stew with Spinach

Time: About 35 minutes total, from cutting board to serving bowl!

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 onion, chopped (I used 1/2 red and 1/2 yellow… because that’s what I had!)
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 pound cremini mushrooms, quartered
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 (28-ounce) can ground, peeled tomatoes (diced would work, too)
• 2 cups cooked white beans, such as Cannellini, Great Northern, or Navy (equivalent to one 16-ounce can), drained and rinsed
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• Optional: 2 cups fresh spinach, 1 sprig fresh rosemary

Make It Happen:

Chop onion and dice the celery and peeled carrot. Pour oil into a nice big soup pot over medium heat. Cook aromatics (onion, carrot, celery) over medium heat until softened and fragrant, 5-7 minutes. Stir occasionally. Don’t worry if there’s a bit of browning.  While that’s going, clean and chop the mushrooms. It’s nice to have big chunks. Toss them into the veggie mix, turn up the heat to medium-high, and stir occasionally as things continue to cook for another 6-8 minutes.

Next, pour in the wine slowly, deglazing and scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen any browned bits. After a minute or so, add in the tomatoes and white beans (and rosemary, if you’re using it). Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Allow soup to thicken for 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the spinach in for the last 2 minutes or so, stirring well until wilted. Add in salt and pepper, as well as any spices you like. I used a garlic-herb mixture that included rosemary, as I didn’t have any fresh.

Serve the stew on it’s own and drizzle with a bit more olive oil. This is also great over a bed of cooked quinoa, and would be equally as enjoyable with a garlic crostini or a few slices of a flavorful hard cheese.