It has been a while since I have posted a Souper Sundays post. Truth be told, I am still trying to work out what I want to do going forward with this event. Keep going, end it, make it bi-weekly... the jury is still out. I do know that I have not been in the kitchen much these past few months, and I have enjoyed not having the pressure of making soup (and photographing it and writing up posts) on Sundays, but I have missed seeing friends and their soups, salads, and sandwiches.
So, let's go another round or two while I work things out.
This week, I am taking you back to a favorite vegan soup, this Lasagna Soup with Herbed Macadamia Ricotta, I made and posted back in February 2017. I was thinking about lasagna the other day, and soup, and this one came to mind, from But My Family Would Never Eat Vegan by Kristy Turner.
You can see my original post here.
Turner's version uses chickpeas in place of vegan meat substitutes and has a topping of Herbed Macadamia Ricotta. I made a couple of small changes to the recipe--upping the garlic and the tomatoes--mainly because the only no-salt crushed tomatoes I could find was in a 28-ounce can and I didn't want to bother with freezing/storing the leftovers. I upped the dried spices a bit too. My changes are noted in red below.
Lasagna Soup with Herbed Macadamia Ricotta
Slightly Adapted from But My Family Would Never Eat Vegan by Kristy Turner
(Serves 6)
1 tsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced (I used 5 cloves)
1 1/2 cups cooked, or 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 medium yellow squash, sliced
1 Tbsp dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano (I used 1 Tbsp)
1 tsp dried parsley (I used 2 tsps)
pinch of cayenne (or crushed red pepper)
1 (15-oz) can no-salt added tomato sauce
1 (15 oz) can no-salt added crushed tomatoes (I used 1 28-oz can)
1 quart low-sodium vegetable broth
12-oz lasagna noodles, broken in half
3 Tbsp nutritional yeast, optional
1 Tbsp lemon juice
salt and black pepper to taste
3 cups loosely packed chopped fresh spinach
1 cup loosely packed chopped fresh basil
Herbed Macadamia Ricotta (recipe below)
Fresh basil to garnish
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
In another large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add onion and garlic and saute until the onion turns translucent. Add the chickpeas, mushrooms, squash, and dried herbs and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until vegetables start to become tender. Add the tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes and broth and bring soup to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes, until vegetables are mostly tender.
Meanwhile, cook the lasagna noodles according to package directions--until al dente. Drain the pasta and add them to the soup. Stir in the nutritional yeast and lemon juice. Taste and add salt and black pepper to taste. Add the chopped spinach and basil and remove soup from heat.
Serve immediately topped with a scoop of the Herbed Macadamia Ricotta.
Leftover soup will keep in a container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Turner notes not to let the soup simmer for too long after adding the noodles or while reheating as they will absorb more liquid and break apart. Add more liquid if needed when reheating.
Slightly Adapted from But My Family Would Never Eat Vegan by Kristy Turner
(Serves 6)
1 tsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced (I used 5 cloves)
1 1/2 cups cooked, or 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 medium yellow squash, sliced
1 Tbsp dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano (I used 1 Tbsp)
1 tsp dried parsley (I used 2 tsps)
pinch of cayenne (or crushed red pepper)
1 (15-oz) can no-salt added tomato sauce
1 (15 oz) can no-salt added crushed tomatoes (I used 1 28-oz can)
1 quart low-sodium vegetable broth
12-oz lasagna noodles, broken in half
3 Tbsp nutritional yeast, optional
1 Tbsp lemon juice
salt and black pepper to taste
3 cups loosely packed chopped fresh spinach
1 cup loosely packed chopped fresh basil
Herbed Macadamia Ricotta (recipe below)
Fresh basil to garnish
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
In another large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add onion and garlic and saute until the onion turns translucent. Add the chickpeas, mushrooms, squash, and dried herbs and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until vegetables start to become tender. Add the tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes and broth and bring soup to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes, until vegetables are mostly tender.
Meanwhile, cook the lasagna noodles according to package directions--until al dente. Drain the pasta and add them to the soup. Stir in the nutritional yeast and lemon juice. Taste and add salt and black pepper to taste. Add the chopped spinach and basil and remove soup from heat.
Serve immediately topped with a scoop of the Herbed Macadamia Ricotta.
Leftover soup will keep in a container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Turner notes not to let the soup simmer for too long after adding the noodles or while reheating as they will absorb more liquid and break apart. Add more liquid if needed when reheating.
My Notes: This soup has good flavor and hit the spot. The herbed macadamia ricotta is just the right touch and even with the addition of the chickpeas--a bit unusual for lasagna, it has all of the taste of the dish. Very creamy and satisfying--even without the meat. The lasagna noodles are a little unwieldy to eat with their size but they cut pretty easily with the spoon. For the ricotta, I soaked my macadamias over night but had a hard time in getting them very smooth in the food processor--adding quite a bit of extra soaking water. Then I thought about it and decided that ricotta usually isn't completely smooth and decided not to worry about it. It ended up melting into the soup as I ate it and was delicious. Next time, I may make it in my high-speed blender instead just to see what it does to the texture. All-in-all it was a relatively quick and easy soup to make and tasted great--I think it would satisfy vegans and meat-eaters alike. I would happily make it again.
If you'd like to join in Souper Sundays, I am opening up the below link for two weeks while I finish deciding what my go-forward looks like.
Anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.)
(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here.
To join in this week's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:
On your entry post (on your blog):
(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here.
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 Kitchenand 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).
Have a happy, healthy week!
