Creamy Vegetable Noodle Soup

This recipe comes to us from The Meatless Monday Family Cookbook by Jenn Sebestyen.

Jenn says, “This thick and creamy soup reminds me a bit of potpie filling, but in soup form. The small ditalini pasta rings are the same size as the diced vegetables, making it easy for kids to scoop up a bit of everything in one bite. Made with no cream, not even homemade cashew cream, you won’t believe how creamy it is. You’ll be heading back for seconds in no time.”

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Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons (28 ml) olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 3 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 tablespoon (1 g) dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon dried dill
• 1¼ teaspoons salt, or to taste
• ¼ cup (32 g) all-purpose flour
• 2 cups (475 ml) unsweetened almond milk or milk of choice, divided
• 4 cups (946 ml) low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons (8 g) nutritional yeast (optional)
• 1 cup (110 g) dry ditalini pasta or similar small pasta shape (gluten-free, if desired)

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 5 to 6 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the carrots, celery, and bell pepper and sauté 4 to 5 minutes until starting to soften.

Add the parsley, basil, thyme, dill, salt, and flour and stir to combine, scraping up any bits of flour on the bottom of the pot. Slowly pour in ½ cup (120 ml) of milk while whisking continuously, again scraping up any bits of flour on the bottom; a flat whisk is convenient here, but a balloon whisk will work as well. Whisk until the flour is completely incorporated.

Add the remainder of the milk, vegetable broth, and nutritional yeast, if using. Whisk to combine. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the pasta, and then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until the pasta is cooked through, stirring often to prevent the pasta from sticking.

Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary.

Swap it! For a gluten-free option, use brown rice flour instead of all-purpose flour.