Summery Zucchini and White Bean Soup for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

I wanted a quick, summery-feeling meat-free soup this week so I went to the master of the fast and easy vegan recipe, Robin Robertson and found a Zucchini and White Bean Soup in her More Quick Fix Vegan cookbook. This soup makes use of pantry staples like diced tomatoes and white beans, but adds in summer favorites like zucchini, fresh basil and fresh Roma tomato.

Robertson says, "White beans add protein and creaminess to this tasty soup made with zucchini and garnished with chopped fresh tomato. When you wash the zucchini, be sure to scrub it well to remove any bits of dirt."

I made a few changes to the soup--using up both zucchini I had, adding extra beans and a bit of extra flavoring. My changes are noted below in red.   

  
Zucchini and White Bean Soup
Slightly Adapted from More Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson
(Serves 4)

1 Tbsp olive oil or 1/4 cup water
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 lb zucchini, trimmed and coarsely chopped (I used about 1 1/2 lbs)
3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced (I used 5 cloves)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
(I added 1/2 tsp dried thyme)
4 cup vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups home-cooked or canned white beans, drained (I used 1 can navy beans + 1 box cannellini beans--about 26 oz total)
1 (14.5 oz) can diced fire-roasted tomatoes, drained (I did not drain mine)
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh tomato

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, 5 minutes. Add the zucchini and garlic and cook for 3 minutes longer. 

Stir in the oregano, broth, white beans, tomatoes, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. 

Add the basil, then taste and adjust seasonings, if needed. Serve hot, topped with the chopped tomato.     

Notes/Results: Simple but tasty, this is the kind of soup for any naysayers who declare that soups aren't meant for summer. It makes the most out of combination of pantry and fresh ingredients and is ready to go in about 30 minutes of prep and cook time. I had two zucchini that equaled about 1 1/2-ish pounds so I added extra beans and more garlic and dried herbs to compensate--as well as kept the liquid in my fire-roasted tomatoes. I liked the changes and would keep them if I make this again. Although a vegan recipe and perfectly satisfying with the protein from the beans, you could also use it as a base for some shredded cooked chicken or you could also sprinkle on grated Parmesan or spice it up with red pepper flakes if you were so inclined. A good little soup for using up zucchini and just right for a warm day or evening. 

Souper Sundays is back with a new format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches any time during the week and I post a recap of some (or all) of the entries the following week. 

(If you are not familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here.)

Here's a recap of the delicious dishes from last week's Souper (Soup, Salad, & Sammie) Sundays roundup.  

Tina of Squirrel Head Manor shared a scrumptious-looking Deluxe Pizza Panini that she enjoyed for lunch saying, "Ham and pepperoni layered up with sauteed mushrooms, roasted red peppers, olives, mozzarella and parmigiano cheeses, with Italian herbs and our homemade tomato sauce. Leave the meats off for a great veggie option! ... Pity I didn't get a clear shot of this sandwich. It was amazing. It honestly did taste like a pizza."

The lovely Beth of Beth Fish Reads (home of the Weekend Cooking weekly blog event) joins us at Souper Sundays for the first time with a couple of recipes she tried this week, saying "Not only were they really yummy but both were pretty and relied on the fresh vegetables that are so plentiful at the farmers market right now."  First was this Italian Vegetable Soup (photo from Bon Appetit). Beth says, "This was excellent and reheated in the microwave perfectly the next day."
  

 
Next there was Ellie Krieger's Snow Pea, Scallion & Radish Salad (photo from Fine Cooking). Beth says, "The following recipe comes from her The Food You Crave book, and is a refreshing salad that looks so pretty in the bowl and on the plate. I served this with simple grilled chicken breasts."

Thanks to Tina and Beth for linking up last week!

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you.

On your entry post (on your blog):

• please mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post.
• you are welcome to add the wonderful Souper Sundays logo (created by Ivy at Kopiaste) to your post and/or blog (optional).

An InLinkz Link-up

Have a happy, healthy week!