Quick & Nutritious Tomato Beans Soup

When it comes to quick and healthy meals, we turn to Soups and Salads more often than not! Something about a soup makes it a very warm and comforting meal to seek, especially when you are tired, hungry and your body craves for a delicious snack that can get you rejuvenated and warm all over! Tomato Soup is a favorite in every Indian household, but in my attempt to try a fusion recipe, and use the can of Pinto beans lying in my pantry for a long time, waiting to be used, I scoured my favorite food blogs for inspiration, and came up with a delicious recipe for Tomato Bean soup, complete with Indian spices.

The original recipe and photo comes from Roni of Green Lite Bites, but I adapted it to add onions, a mix of Indian and Italian herbs, and a generous helping of Parmesan cheese to give it that extra flavor boost! I love how this is a very light soup, filling, yet not rich like other soups or Bisques which are loaded with cream. The pinto beans pair well with the tomatoes, and the sautéed onions give it a mild pungent flavor that only enhances the recipe.

Off this goes to Padmajha who is collecting Tomato recipes as part of Healing Foods this month, thanks to an event initiated by my dear blogger friend Siri from Siri’s Corner.

Quick Tomato Soup with Pinto Beans & Spinach
1 10 oz can of tomato puree
1 medium-sized onion – chopped
2 tbsp oil
1 10 oz can of water
1 15oz can of diced tomatoes
1 15oz can of cooked pinto beans – drained and rinsed
2-3 fresh green chillies – chopped (more if you like it spicy)
2 tbsp fresh cilantro leaves – chopped
1/2 tsp cumin
About 2 cups baby spinach loosely chopped
2-3 tbsp shaved parmesan cheese

Method
Take a wok and heat the oil for 1 minute. Add the chopped onions and sauté them for a couple minutes, till light golden in color. Add the can of tomato puree and cook for another 1 minute. Now blend the onion-tomato mixture in a blender – give a short whir for a few seconds. You don’t want to make a smooth paste – just a lightly chopped texture should suffice.

Mix all ingredients (including the onion-tomato mixture) except the spinach & parmesan cheese in a pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil then lower the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes allowing all the flavors to mix well.

Turn off the heat. Add the baby spinach and remove from heat. Stir in the spinach and it would wilt in a few seconds.

Transfer to 2 serving bowls, then top it with some fresh Parmesan cheese and serve with a side of Garlic or Rosemary bread!

Unlike any other soup, you will be pleasantly surprised to get a delicious blend of several flavors in one spoon – its spicy, tangy, grainy, aromatic, pungent, and extremely flavorful, all in one bite! This is a great fusion recipe and I love the result of my experiment. My family loved it with a side order of Homemade Garlic Bread. Plus, it is healthy, filling and very nutritious too! Try some for yourself and you’ll know what I mean!