Cameron Anthony Park

I know it seems like not enough liquid but trust me, “it’s a healthy soup that eats like a meal!”

I thought I’d make myself a quick and easy vegetable soup. Then I thought, why not share just that much more of my life with all these internet strangers. It’s a no brainer really. I’m a glutton for idiocy.

These are just random shots of things that make and take up my life.

I usually love to cook healthy and comforting dishes but I hate to spend all this ridiculous time in the kitchen (I have too much real work to do!). So over the years I’ve devised, revised, copied, improved and simplified a few signature dishes perfect for my lifestyle.

This won over my last girlfriend and that ain’t so bad.

Ingredients:

Two Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Three to Four Large Cloves of Chopped Garlic

4 Oz. Diced Pancetta (thus the “almost vegetable” soup)

A Fat Pinch of Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

One - 16 Oz. Bag of Pre-Washed & Pre-Cut Rough Leafy Greens (Swiss Chard?)

One - 15 Oz. Can of Red Kidney Beans (Be Sure to Rinse & Drain with water)

One - 28 Oz. Can of Diced Tomatoes

One - 32 Oz. Carton of Vegetable Stock (about four cups)

One Cup of Water

Salt & Pepper to Taste

Two Tbsp of Low Sodium Soy Sauce

This happens pretty fast so here it goes:

1) Heat your soup pot over a medium heat and add your extra virgin olive oil.

2) Swirl the oil around a little to coat the bottom of the pot and add your diced pancetta, chopped garlic, crushed red pepper flakes and stir until the pancetta and garlic begin to cook through and almost get to a slight crisp.

3) Add the rough leafy greens / swiss chard and stir everything well until the greens begin to cook down a little (2-3 minutes should be fine).

4) Add the red kidney beans and tomatoes. Stir until everything is pretty well mixed and slightly heated. Add a little salt and pepper here as well (couple teaspoons should be fine).

5) Add the vegetable stock, water and soy sauce. Stir until everything is well mixed.

6) Cover, turn your heat up to medium high and wait for the soup to come to a boil.

7) Once the soup comes to a boil, lower your heat back down to a medium low.

Give it one last stir and serve yo’ self up a phat bowl!

The World’s Most Delicious & Easy (Almost) Vegetable Soup… done

A few extra notes:

You could bowl up a much prettier serving than I did in these pictures and grate some fresh parmesan cheese over the top to impress some lucky guests.

If you’re a hardcore vegetarian: 1) screw you, and 2) you could skip the pancetta part and add some chopped onions instead for an added layer of flavor.

Other garnishes could include a few thin slices of jalapeno peppers (as I did) or some fresh chopped parsley, cilantro or scallions.

I guarantee you will love this super simple and delicious soup or else you could let me have it here.

There. I finally put up an actual personal recipe.

Cheers.

cap