Quinoa Vegetable Soup

For all the simple ingredients in this soup I expected it to taste kind of bland. But it's really delicious and flavorful.





















John and I have been trying out new recipes that involve quinoa, since we have some in the pantry. I've also got a great quinoa salad to show you at point soon. Quinoa is so funny to me - it starts out sort of like a mustard seed and then sort of...pops.

























This soup is really hearty and the recipe makes a huge batch. We froze two tupperware containers of them for finals week (though, here we are and they're still frozen).
John didn't like the parsley in this soup, and in general I'd recommend putting it on top serving by serving, since it's kind of a strong flavor compared to the others. We made this with tofu instead of chicken. Sometimes I worry about that not turning out well, but here it was really good. Again, I recommend pressing the tofu for at least an hour before cooking - it makes all the difference!

Quinoa Vegetable Soup
adapted from The Sisters Cafe

2 T extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

5 stalks celery, chopped

4 large carrots, peeled and sliced

2 Cups sweet pepper, chopped

1 large zucchini, quartered and sliced

64 oz chicken broth*

15 oz can diced tomatoes

5 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and cubed into 1" pieces (get the Yukon potatoes, it's worth the extra few dollars)

3 cups cooked quinoa

4 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked, shredded and lightly seasoned with salt and pepper* (We used a package of extra-firm tofu)

2 T Dijon Mustard

1 T Hot Sauce

Kosher Salt, fresh cracked black pepper, Garlic Salt (Lawry's is good), and Parsley to taste

1 1/2 cups fresh parsley chopped

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onion, celery, carrots, peppers, and zucchini until softened. This takes about 5 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, tomatoes, and potatoes. Increase heat to high just until broth starts to boil Reduce to medium high and cook potatoes for 10 minutes or until fork tender. Reduce heat to low and stir in quinoa, chicken, dijon mustard, hot sauce. Season to taste with kosher salt, pepper, garlic salt. Stir in fresh parsley and simmer until ready to serve.

*These are both ingredients that can easily be subbed for tofu and veggie broth to make this recipe vegan.