Hello again from the Hungry Southern Belle team!  We are busy working on another fun project that we will be sharing with all of our loyal fans soon, so stay tuned!  In the meantime, we’ve had a busy week with work, the gym/studio and family time.  Sometimes it is so very tempting to grab something quick to eat like fast food or pizza when everyone in the house is “on the go”.  Last night was one of those nights where I was tempted to grab something quick for us on the way home from the studio.  As some of you know, I’m doing another Barre3 challenge, so I stayed strong and decided instead to try this actually very easy recipe for a delicious creamy turnip and white bean soup.  Turnips?  Yummy you ask?  Absolutely!  The texture was perfect…smooth and creamy while still being full of flavor with lots of fresh herbs.  This soup offers lots of protein without adding any meat (perfect for my vegetarian or vegan friends) while also offering a number of other vitamin and minerals.  As quoted from the site, “the ½ cup of parsley alone contains more than 50 percent of your daily requirements of Vitamin C and Vitamin A”.  Awesome!  Bonus was that while this was simmering for the 30 minutes, I had the chance to catch up on laundry and even a little bit of relaxation time (and we both had enough for leftovers for our lunches today).  Enjoy y’all!

Creamy Turnip and White Bean Soup

(Serves 4 – courtesy of barre3)

INGREDIENTS:

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 medium turnips, scrubbed clean and cut into ¼-inch chunks
1 Tbs. fresh rosemary
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
6-8 cups vegetable stock
1 15-oz can navy beans, cannellini beans, or white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for about 5 minutes.
2. Add the garlic, turnips, rosemary, and cayenne pepper. Cook for about 3 more minutes, stirring often. Stir in the vegetable stock (start with 6 cups and add more at the end if soup is too thick or too much liquid evaporates while soup simmers) bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer.
3. Add the beans and simmer soup for about 30 minutes.
4. Purée the soup with an immersion blender or in batches with a regular blender.
5. Top soup with salt and pepper and serve with 1 to 2 tablespoons of minced parsley per serving.