About 6-8 Servings
Ingredients:
2-4 cloves garlic
1 green chili
¾ cup diced white or yellow onion
¾ cup minced celery
¼ cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup diced carrot
½ cup ham or pancetta, diced
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
2 (16 oz) cans navy beans
4 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
Salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper
2-3 bay leaves
Olive oil
Instructions:
Dice all vegetables and ham. Rinse navy beans in colander to clean and remove salt.
In soup pot on medium heat, sauté vegetables and ham in olive oil until tender. Add tomato sauce, beans, bay leaves and chicken stock. Add salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste. Reduce heat, cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes.
Remove bay leaves. Using blender or food processor, puree the soup in small batches. Add pureed soup back to pot and let sit for another 5 or so minutes.
Cooking Tips:
- To create texture interest, don’t puree the entire soup. Set aside a portion and then add back to pureed soup in pot.
David H. Rahm, M.D. is the founder and medical director of The Wellness Center, a medical clinic located in Long Beach, CA. Dr. Rahm is also president and medical director of VitaMedica. Dr. Rahm is one of a select group of conventional medical doctors who have education and expertise in functional medicine and nutritional science. Over the past 20 years, Dr. Rahm has published articles in the plastic surgery literature and educated physicians about the importance of good peri-operative nutrition.
