I’ve been trying to fight a cold since earlier this week, and so have several people around us. The change in the weather has gotten a lot of people around me sick. So I decided to make something hearty and healthy on this beautiful Saturday morning. This Italian Savoury Quinoa e Fagioli Soup recipe was inspired by Olive Garden Restaurant’s Pasta e Fagioli Soup (which means pasta and beans), but instead of pasta, I decided to use quinoa (pronounced kinda).
Quinoa is a grain that originated from the Andean region of Peru, Bolivia, Columbia and Ecuador. It is high in protein, dietary fibre, magnesium and iron. It is also a source of calcium, is gluten-free and is considered easy to digest. The beef, quinoa and beans in this delicious soup make it a protein-rich soup! Quinoa e Fagioli Soup tastes lovely and is perfect to have during colder weather too.
Savoury Quinoa e Fagioli Soup Recipe
Ingredients
1 ¼ pound ground beef (minced beef)
1 cup celery - chopped
1 cup onion - chopped
1 cup carrots - diced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 cloves garlic
1 cup vegetable stock (vegetable broth or vegetable bouillon)
1 cup beef stock (beef broth or beef bouillon)
28 ounces passata or crushed tomatoes (tomato puree with seeds removed)
2 ½ cup red kidney beans - do not drain
2 cups quinoa - cooked
1 cup Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat olive oil and garlic for a minute. Then, brown the ground beef in medium to high heat by stirring constantly. Drain the liquid.
- Place the pot back on the stove, then add salt, pepper, basil, thyme, and oregano to the pot. Keep stirring to mix in flavours well. Stir for about a minute and a half.
- Add the crushed tomatoes and kidney beans, and continue to stir for a minute. Add 2 cups of cooked quinoa.
- Then add the vegetable and beef broth. Simmer for 10 minutes in low-medium heat.
- I added roughly 2 tablespoons of olive oil and garlic to a large dutch oven. Then I browned the ground beef with garlic and olive oil. Keep stirring so that the garlic flavor mixes well into the beef. Then turn off the heat and drain the liquid. Be careful not to burn yourself!
- I put back the pot of browned beef on the stove on medium heat and then added the spices and salt. I gave it another 2 minutes of good stirring before adding the vegetables. You need to stir it well again to mix in the flavour. Then add the crushed tomatoes and kidney beans and stir.
- Add the beef and vegetable broths, and then add the cooked quinoa last. I think using homemade broths enriched the flavour of this soup.
