Portuguese Bean Soup

My "comfort food", sure to remind me of my Portuguese roots, 

and made healthy (and cholesterol-free) by omitting the ham hocks and linguiça. 

The flavor is still amazing!

Portuguese Bean Soup

Ingredients

1 onion, thinly sliced

3 stalks celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 medium potatoes, cut into cubes

2 15-ounce cans tomato sauce

2 15-ounce cans kidney beans

8 cups of water, divided
3 Tablespoons fresh parsley, minced (or 2 teaspoons dried parsley)

½ head medium cabbage

1 bunch watercress

1 cup macaroni (uncooked)

2 teaspoons sea salt

¼ black pepper

Directions
1. In a large pot, combine onion, celery, garlic, potatoes, tomato sauce, and kidney beans.
2. Add about 4 cups of water, enough to cover the potatoes, and simmer until potatoes start to become tender.
3. Add cabbage, watercress, macaroni, parsley, salt, pepper, and remaining 4 cups of water.
4. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until macaroni is tender.

Serve hot.


This recipe makes a lot of soup, and it freezes well!