Benjamin Kraft/The Daily Northwestern

I don’t know if you check the weather daily, waiting for 30-degree temperatures and sunshine like I do, but if you do, you may have noticed that later this week it is supposed to be 40. I suppose it’s been 40 already this quarter, but I’m talking positive 40. Bathing suits, flippy-floppies, sun bathing on rocks, Fanta commercials, the works. I decided I needed some hearty soup to last me until Thursday when the whole campus may be one giant puddle, at which point we’ll find out if there is still earth underneath the eternal snow drifts. With a quick trip to Whole Foods or Jewel-Osco and a few pots and pans, it’s easy to make a delicious dinner in your dorm or apartment. This week, I took over the kitchen in Allison Hall to make this hearty and satisfying soup.

Though last week’s quinoa wrap recipe was incredibly healthy, I was worried I was compromising taste for nutritional value. I didn’t go to the opposite extreme and wrap everything in bacon, but settled for a slightly less healthy dish that was scrumptious to a fault.

Two quick additional tips:

1. The cooking time entirely depends on how large you chop the potatoes, carrots and celery, so cut them into 1/2-1 inch cubes and keep your cook time down while making your vegetables bite-sized rather than into spoon-wrecking, titanic proportions.
2. After you add the noodles, run over to the grocery store and buy a still-warm loaf of country French bread that is soft but crackles explosively when squeezed. Slice it and use it to sop up the soup and anything else. All the deliciousness.

Serves 6 | Hands-on time: 15 minutes | Total time: 1 hour | Source: Allrecipes

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped carrots
• 1 19-ounce can cannellini beans
• 1/2 cup shredded cabbage (I don’t like spinach either, just trust me)
• 1 14.5-ounce can stewed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cups cubed potatoes
• 1 quart chicken broth
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup elbow macaroni
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, celery and carrots; saute for a five minutes.
2. Add beans, cabbage, tomatoes, tomato paste, potato, stock, garlic, parsley and salt to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat.
3. Simmer for approximately 30 minutes or until vegetables are barely tender.
4. Add pasta, and simmer for 30 minutes more or until pasta is al dente.
5. Serve hot with a sprinkling of Parmesan and a slice of bread.

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