Mushroom and Green Bean Soup with Gremolata

This week’s recipe was inspired by a recipe from Vegetarian Times magazine.

was in the mood for soup this week so I went combing through all of my recipes and found this great one with noodles, mushrooms and green beans…some of my favorite foods.  This is another recipe that is easy to whip up if you have a last minute vegetarian or vegan guest coming for dinner.  It also makes a great, low-calorie, low-sodium meal for anyone who’s trying to watch their waist line before the holiday eating season begins!

From the Pantry:

  • 2 tbs. olive oil
  • 6 c. low-sodium vegetable broth
  • 3 c. no-egg wide-ribbon noodles (these are similar to egg noodles which are vegetarian friendly but not vegan friendly, feel free to substitute with your favorite noodle)
  • ¾ tsp. dried Herbs de Provence seasoning mix (if you can’t find a premade mix, use any combination of earthy flavored herbs like, sage, rosemary, thyme and savory)
  • kosher salt to taste

From the Garden

  • 2 ½ c. (6 oz.) portabella mushrooms, chopped into large chunks
  • 1 medium sweet onion, diced (about 1 ½ cups)
  • 1 ½ c.  green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • ¼ c. fresh Italian parsley
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled
  • 2 tsp. grated lemon zest

Use a large soup pot to saute the onion and mushrooms in the olive oil until the onion is soft and slightly browned.  Add the Herbs de Provence and the green beans and allow them to cook for 1-2 minutes.  Pour in the vegetable broth and bring to a boil.  Add the uncooked noodles and allow them to boil gently for 7-8 minutes (or the time according to the package directions for the noodles that you have selected).  While waiting for the noodles to cook in the soup, make the gremolata by finely chopping together the parsley, garlic and lemon zest.

Once the soup is ready, serve hot and top each serving with 1-2 tsp. of the gremolata.  The original recipe called for a scoop of mascarpone cheese to be stirred in just before serving but I wanted to keep the recipe vegan and low-cal.  You could top the soup with a bit of shaved parmesan cheese but then you’re not vegan anymore (but still vegetarian).  It’s up to you how if you’d like the cheese but I thought it was quite tasty without it.  Just a bit of kosher salt sprinkled on top and I was happy!


.

.
.
Care to learn more about being a vegetarian?  Click here to read my mini-series: When Veggies Come to Dinner

  17 comments for “Mushroom and Green Bean Soup with Gremolata

  1. November 12, 2012 at 3:31 pm

    I’ll be making this. Oh, yeah. I’m neither vegan nor vegetarian, but I eat heavily towards vegetarian. Soup is my go-to food.

    • November 13, 2012 at 11:42 am

      And this soup was really filling, so it’s definitely a good one for the nights when you go meat-free!

  2. November 12, 2012 at 5:23 pm

    Big fan of soup, mushroom & green beans so this looks scrumptious to me! I’ve never tried growing mushrooms outside though, do you find them relatively easy to grow?

    • November 13, 2012 at 11:44 am

      They’re not too bad. I find that with the hot, sunny Florida weather it is easier for me to grow them under my kitchen sink. There are kits that you can buy and it makes it very easy. 🙂

      I know a woman in Australia that got some mushroom compost and spread it under her porch/deck and now there’s mushrooms growing like crazy!

  3. November 12, 2012 at 6:55 pm

    Where do you come up with all these recipes!! This is great! I love mushrooms. 🙂

    • November 13, 2012 at 11:45 am

      I love mushrooms, too! I’m not nearly this creative on my own, I usually modify recipes that I have found over the years and I try to credit the original source whenever possible but sometimes I forget where I got the original from! 🙂

  4. Yelle
    November 12, 2012 at 8:19 pm

    Yum! I tend to eat vegetarian 5/7 days of the week! This is a great recipe for cooler days to add to the list of meals to make!

    • November 13, 2012 at 11:47 am

      Hooray! Every day that you go veggie helps the environment…plus I’m partial to the animals. 😉 My mom and dad aren’t vegetarians but they’ve been making “vegetarian choices” for a couple of meals a week…all good things!!

  5. November 13, 2012 at 1:56 pm

    You are singing my song in this recipe Katie. Whenever you couple the humble bean with mushrooms you elevate it into the stratosphere. I will be making this dish VERY soon and as Steve doesn’t like “squeaky” green beans…I may get to have it all to myself (unless Earl taks a liking to it that is! Stranger things have passed through that dogs beak! 😉 )

    • November 13, 2012 at 2:44 pm

      Hahaha, I think Earl would love this recipe! And I don’t know what Steve is thinking…”squeaky” green beans are the best! Fun fact: in the comments above, you are the “woman in Australia” that I refer to. 🙂

      • November 13, 2012 at 2:58 pm

        🙂 I like being “That Australian Woman”…it makes me sound like I am a creature of substance forging into the wilderness with purpose rather than a middle aged penniless student hippy with a HUGE pile of design work to finish before her lecturer gives her that stern lecturer look…better make a cake for this meeting! 😉

    • November 13, 2012 at 3:11 pm

      Haha, good strategy…cake heals all wounds…that’s what they say, right?

  6. November 13, 2012 at 1:56 pm

    (can I hit “like” twice? the more I look at it the more I NEED to make this recipe 🙂 )

  7. November 15, 2012 at 8:17 pm

    YUM – as a vegetarian, I would love to eat this! I love mushrooms.

  8. November 24, 2012 at 4:09 pm

    I love portabella mushrooms in any context, and nice warm soup is perfect this time of year. Thanks for sharing.

  9. November 28, 2012 at 9:09 am

    Mmm yam, that’s something i would def love to try!! 🙂 Great recipe Katie!

  10. December 14, 2012 at 12:56 pm

    mmmmm I want to make this 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *