Holler, Moosewood

After a hard day of work on Friday filled with departmental events and a GRE practice test during my lunch break, I was in the mood for some serious comfort food by the time I got home. Despite the fact that I still needed to study and learn at least half of the 300 vocabulary words I'd made flash cards for, I allowed myself the luxury of making one of my favorite soups. This is a Moosewood recipe that combines two of my favorite ingredients: olives and beans. The mixture sounds bizarre, it's true, but this recipe is one of those rare soups that is both light and filling, with the perfect ratio of chunkiness to broth. After the initial chopping frenzy it's ready within 40 minutes, leaving the vegetables somewhat crunchy (waayyyy better than soft, in my opinion). Disclaimer: I'm pretty liberal when it comes to measurements. I probably used more of each vegetable than what the recipe calls for.

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped zucchini
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrot
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1 1/2 tsp. basil
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
3 cups water
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 small can tomato paste
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 tbsp. lemon juice
2 cups cooked white beans (I used 1 cup dry Great Northern beans that I pre-soaked all day and then cooked for about 30 minutes)
1 cup chopped black olives
1/3 cup chopped kalamata olives

Saute vegetables and spices in olive oil (about 2 tbsp.) for 5 - 10 minutes. Add remainder of ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes. This would be great with crusty bread, but I ate it solo!