Italian Mixed Bean Soup
- Preparing Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Served Person: 10
- salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 8 cups water
- 2 celery ribs diced
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup brown lentils
- 2 cups dried beans mixed
- 5 carrots diced
- 2 large bouillon cubes (vegetable)
- 1 can diced tomatoes (italian seasoning or plain)
- 1 box frozen chopped spinach
- 1 teaspoon ground red pepper (it doesn't make it spicy just wakes up the flavors)
- Carbohydrate 36.4511560000535 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0.944578000128891 g
- Fiber 14.3771498428224 g
- Protein 13.293387000026 g
- Saturated Fat 0.139806000012495 g
- Serving Size 1 1 -12 serving(s) (311g)
- Sodium 56.4722072981776 mg
- Sugar 22.0740061572312 g
- Trans Fat 0.160434400003279 g
- Calories 201 calories
Pick through the dried beans and discard any shrivled or broken beans. Also watch out for tiny stones. You can use any mix of beans you like but my mix tends to inclue equal parts navy beans, pinto beans, and kidney beans. Put the beans in a large pot and add water enough to cover the beans by a good 3 inches. Cover and let soak for at least 8 hours or overnight. (alternately you can put the beans in a pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, cover and remove from heat, let stand for an hour. It yields a differnt texture but still yummy). Drain beans. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute the onions and garlic until the onion becomes translucent or about 3 minutes. Add the celery and carrots, saute another 2-3 minutes. Add the 8 cups of water and bullion cubes. Bring to a boil. Cover and lower heat to simmer. Simmer for 1 hour and 40 minutes. Add lentils, tomatoes, spinach, ground red pepper, oregano, and basil. Cover and simmer 20 minutes more. Both beans and lentils should be soft at this point. If they are not let them simmer longer. Add salt and pepper to taste.
