Good Friday soup? Well, that’s what I call this anyway. It’s really a vegetable minestrone, but it’s perfect for a meat-free meal. On Good Friday, churches in my city often have a Stations of the Cross service, followed by a simple lunch of soup and bread for a freewill donation to a local charity. This is the soup that is most often served.
The great thing about this soup is that you can vary it according to what you have on hand, making it the perfect way to use up those leftover vegetables that are lingering in your fridge. You can also change up some of the ingredients according to your preferences or what’s on sale and in season at the time.
Good Friday Soup
This is a hearty, filling soup that you can serve anytime of the year, not just on Good Friday. Add a piece of bread or some crackers if you’d like but the pasta in it makes this unnecessary.
Ingredients:
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 ribs of celery, cut into thin slices
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cloves of garlic, minced (or use 2 tsp of jarred garlic)
1 – 28 oz can of tomato sauce or diced or crushed tomatoes (I use tomato sauce)
1 cup of chopped green beans
A zucchini, cut into small chunks
A potato (I used Yukon Gold), cut into chunks
1 – 10 oz package of frozen spinach (or 2 cups coarsely chopped fresh)
5 cups of vegetable broth
1 can of red or white kidney beans
2 bay leaves
2 tsp. Italian seasoning (or 1 each of oregano and thyme)
3/4 cup of pasta – like elbow macaroni or ditalini
Fresh parsley and grated Parmesan cheese for serving (optional)
Instructions:
To me, you really need the mirepoix – the onions, carrots, and celery – but all other vegetables are optional. Leave them out or substitute/add others such as corn, peas, cabbage, yellow wax beans, lima beans, or even squash, turnips, parsnips, or sweet potatoes. You can also add more kinds of beans – buy a can or bag of those mixed beans and add it instead of the kidney beans
Cook the onion, carrots, and celery in the oil over medium heat until they have started to soften. Use a large soup pot for this and this will be a one-pot meal!
Season this mixture with salt and pepper and stir in the garlic. Turn down the heat. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the pasta (and parsley and Parmesan if using). Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes.
Add the pasta and continue to cook for an additional 10-15 minutes, uncovered until pasta is cooked through.
Taste and add more salt and pepper and Italian seasoning if needed. Don’t forget to remove the bay leaves. Serve topped with parsley and Parmesan if desired.
To make in a slow cooker:
Eliminate the olive oil, unless you want to cook the mirepoix (onions, carrots, and celery) on the stovetop and then add to the slow cooker. This is not necessary, but some people prefer it.
Combine all ingredients except the pasta, spinach, and zucchini in the slow cooker.
Cook for 6-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high.
Half an hour before you are ready to serve the soup, add the pasta, spinach, and zucchini. Cook for another 30 minutes. Remember to remove the bay leaves. Serve garnished with parsley and Parmesan if desired.
I read online about another soup that is called Kibbet il Raheb, a Lebanese soup that is traditionally served on Good Friday as well. The name translates to Monks’ Soup and there were even claims that this would have been a soup commonly served during Jesus’ time. I don’t know if that’s true or not and I have never tried it, but it did sound delicious too!
Good Friday Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 2 medium carrots chopped
- 2 ribs of celery cut into thin slices
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4 cloves of garlic minced (or use 2 tsp of jarred garlic)
- 1 – 28 oz can of tomato sauce or diced or crushed tomatoes I use tomato sauce
- 1 cup of chopped green beans
- 1 zucchini cut into small chunks
- 1 potato I used Yukon Gold, cut into chunks
- 1 – 10 oz package of frozen spinach or 2 cups coarsely chopped fresh
- 5 cups of vegetable broth
- 1 can of red or white kidney beans
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tsp. Italian seasoning or 1 each of oregano and thyme
- 3/4 cup of pasta – like elbow macaroni or ditalini
- Fresh parsley and grated Parmesan cheese for serving optional
Instructions
-
To me, you really need the mirepoix – the onions, carrots, and celery – but all other vegetables are optional. Leave them out or substitute/add others such as corn, peas, cabbage, yellow wax beans, lima beans, or even squash, turnips, parsnips, or sweet potatoes. You can also add more kinds of beans – buy a can or bag of those mixed beans and add it instead of the kidney beans
-
Cook the onion, carrots, and celery in the oil over medium heat until they have started to soften. Use a large soup pot for this and this will be a one-pot meal!
-
Season this mixture with salt and pepper and stir in the garlic. Turn down the heat. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the pasta (and parsley and Parmesan if using). Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes.
-
Add the pasta and continue to cook for an additional 10-15 minutes, uncovered until pasta is cooked through.
-
Taste and add more salt and pepper and Italian seasoning if needed. Don’t forget to remove the bay leaves. Serve topped with parsley and Parmesan if desired.
To make in a slow cooker:
-
Eliminate the olive oil, unless you want to cook the mirepoix (onions, carrots, and celery) on the stovetop and then add to the slow cooker. This is not necessary, but some people prefer it.
-
Combine all ingredients except the pasta, spinach, and zucchini in the slow cooker.
-
Cook for 6-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high.
-
Half an hour before you are ready to serve the soup, add the pasta, spinach, and zucchini. Cook for another 30 minutes. Remember to remove the bay leaves. Serve garnished with parsley and Parmesan if desired.
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