Vegan Polenta Soup (And The Parsnip That Got Away. . .)

Vegan Polenta Soup

This is actually more of a strategy than a recipe. The first time I had Everything But the Kitchen Sink Broth made. I used carrots, celery and frozen corn, along with the frozen spinach. The second time I didn’t have broth made, so I used leftover cooking water from corn pasta and cabbage, and bean broth. I didn’t have corn or celery so I added grape tomatoes and dried mushrooms. I didn’t have chickpeas cooked, so I used Anasazi beans, which turn a lovely pink color when they cook.  The variations are endless  The most important thing is to cook the polenta in more liquid than it can absorb and voila! You have polenta soup.

5-6 cups of Everything But the Kitchen Sink Broth or steam water leftover from cooking potatoes, veggies or pasta or beans
1/3 cup polenta, moistened with about 2 tbs of broth or water
1/4 cup quinoa
1 cup chopped red onion
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 large carrot, julienned
poultry seasoning
garlic
lemon zest
1/2-1 tbs of lemon juice
1 cup cooked light beans, such as chickpeas, cannellini beans, or even Anasazi beans

• any of the following spices or veggies
• tumeric
• cumin
• fennel
• smoked paprika
• red bell pepper
• frozen corn kernels
• frozen spinach
• dried mushrooms, broken into small pieces
• halved cherry or grape tomatoes
• julienned parsnip
• optional as toppings or add-ins:
• nutritional yeast
• extra freshly grated garlic
• chopped Italian Parsley
• chopped green onion
• pine nuts

Moisten your polenta with the 2 tbs of water in a small bowl. In a soup pot, saute the onion, celery and carrot (and red pepper if you use it) in a little broth or water. Start with about 2 tbs and add a little more as needed to prevent sticking. When the onion is softened, after about 5 minutes, add whatever spices you like, the tomatoes if using, and stir. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Stir in the polenta. Stir in the quinoa. Keep it at medium heat while the grains cook and stir often. When the grains are done, about 10-15 minutes later–I taste to be sure–add some frozen spinach and frozen corn, if using, and the cooked beans. Taste and add more seasonings or nutritional yeast if desired. Serve topped with a few pine nuts and some sliced green onion or extra garlic granules and/or nutritional yeast sprinkled on.

You can add or subtract from the suggested list of veggies and seasonings according to your taste and what you have on hand. You can also add steamed veggies to leftovers, extra garlic, more parsley. My absolute basics are the broth or cooking liquid, the polenta, onion,  garlic, poultry seasoning, beans, spinach and lemon.