Greens, Peas, and Rice Soup

It’s been a while! I apologize for the lack of updates lately, but the pregnancy and full-time job are keeping me busy. My genuine attempts at eating healthy throughout this pregnancy have been met with varying degrees of success. I find that most days I am pretty exhausted from my workday and just want to sit and relax, instead of stand in the kitchen and cook dinner. However, I am making an effort to eat whole, unprocessed foods and fresh fruit and vegetables as much as possible. This soup turned out surprisingly well, so I thought I’d share it. I have a fridge full of veggies from my CSA box last week, so I threw in a combination of vegetables that I thought would work well together, and it turned out splendidly.

Greens, Peas, and Rice Soup

Ingredients

2 TBS butter

½ of a yellow or white onion, chopped

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

1-2 carrots, chopped

½ tsp red pepper flakes

2 TBS chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tsp dried)

½ tsp salt

black pepper to taste

1 cup of fresh peas (or frozen)

6 cups of vegetable, chicken, or beef broth (I used organic beef broth)

1 bunch collard greens, roughly chopped and stems removed (or whatever greens you have on hand—kale would work well too)

¾ cup short-grain rice (I used Arborio)

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (but cheddar will work too)

Directions

Melt the butter in a stockpot set on medium heat until sizzling. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, red pepper flakes, parsley, the salt and pepper and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the peas (I used fresh peas because they are so much more flavorful but frozen will work just fine) and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. Add the greens and simmer for another 2-3 minutes (they cook very quickly).

Process half of the soup in a food processor or blender (or all of it, depending on your preference) until smooth. Return to the pot, stir in the rice and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes or until the rice is cooked.

To serve, sprinkle soup with grated cheese.