Rating
3.75
Average: 3.8 (4 votes)
Active time
15 minutes
Total time
45 minutes
Yield
4 servings
Serving Size
1 cup
Nutritioni
Ingredients

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

2 large leeks, white parts only, sliced

3 garlic cloves, minced

½ cup amaranth

2 cups low-sodium vegetable stock

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 cups no-salt-added cooked cannellini beans, rinsed and drained, divided

½ cup chopped fresh basil

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano

1 tsp. sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
  1. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring frequently, until golden and soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute, then add the amaranth grains, stock, bay leaf, and tomato paste and bring to a boil.
  2. Reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 30 minutes.
  3. Remove the bay leaf from the amaranth mixture, add 1 cup of the beans, and use a handheld immersion blender to puree in the pot until smooth. (Alternatively, puree the beans in a food processor, add the amaranth mixture – working in batches if necessary – and puree again until smooth, then return to the pot.)
  4. Stir in the remaining beans, the herbs, and the salt. Warm gently just to heat through. If desired, thin the soup with additional stock (heat before adding to avoid overcooking the soup). Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe courtesy of Lori Sobelson, from the Bob’s Red Mill cookbook Whole & Healthy Grains for Every Meal of the Day.

Nutrition

Calories: 350
Total Fat: 9 g
(Saturated Fat: 1.5 g)
Sodium: 691 mg
Carbohydrate: 57 g
Fiber: 12 g
Protein: 15 g.

Yield: 4 servings

Serving Size: 1 cup

How'd it Taste?

Catherine
November 1, 2016
0
Haven't made it but the sodium is really, really high at 1290gr per one cup. Homemade broth would bring this down, but at this level I would't make it. Health Canada recommends 2,300 gr sodium per day and much less if any health issues.
Cynthia
November 3, 2016
5
Hi Catherine. Thanks for bringing that to our attention. We've updated the recipe to specify low-sodium stock and no-salt-added beans, which reduces the sodium in a cup of this soup from 1290mg to 690mg. Most of this sodium (580mg per cup) now comes from the teaspoon of salt, which you can of course reduce further as you make the recipe. Hope this helps! We just served this soup at our conference and it was delicious.
patsy cincotta
April 24, 2017
0
I'm very disappointed that I purchased amaranth. I found only good things in descriptions of this product, and the package (2 pounds of it!) has no label with the amount of sodium. I am on a very low sodium program through my cardiologist, and even the lowered sodium amounts you suggest keep it at too much sodium. Sites that publish the good claims for this product should also include the fact that it is high in sodium.
Caroline-WGC
April 26, 2017
0
Hi Patsy -- The sodium in this recipe comes from the broth and the added salt, not from the amaranth itself. Like most plant foods, amaranth grains contain almost no sodium. The USDA Nutrient Database tells us that 1 cup of plain cooked amaranth has just 15mg of sodium. If you're looking for other ways to use your amaranth, we can suggest our Amaranth Polenta with Wild Mushrooms (160mg sodium per serving) or our Amaranth with Peppers and Cabbage (just 20mg sodium per serving). You can search for them on our recipes page: https://wholegrainscouncil.org/recipes
Andrew
August 11, 2020
4
Very tasty. I added 2.5 cups' dried cannellini beans at the same time as adding amaranth, and then blended the entire soup once cooked.
Robert
July 18, 2022
2
No so much soup as porridge.
Robert
July 19, 2022
4
Need to revise my initial comments. This soup is actually quite good. I realized afterwards that I had forgotten to cover the pot, so the soup became more like a porridge. I added two more cups of vegetable stock to correct the consistency. I used a few pinches of salt (rather than 1 teaspoon) and squeezed fresh lemon juice in at the end, which brightened it dramatically. Also, as we like a little spice, mixed in a little fiery harissa spice. Altogether, with a salad, this was a very satisfying dinner.
Liana
January 14, 2024
0
Can I replace the amaranth cu something else?
Caroline-WGC
January 16, 2024
0
Hi Liana -- If you're looking to substitute the amaranth with another whole grain, I would recommend trying something like quinoa, teff, or millet. These are all similarly tiny grains that will expand and help to thicken the soup.

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