Cabbage, Leek, Mushroom, Artichoke Soup

This soup is perfect for a light dinner.  The lemons give a nice zesty flavor to this soup.  There is nice texture with the artichokes and cabbage.  If you don’t like a really lemony flavor you might want to only use one lemon in the recipe.

Ingredients

2 leeks, sliced in half rounds
5 oz. sliced shitake mushrooms
1.5 oz. dried wild blend mushrooms
1 head cabbage, chopped
2 cans white kidney beans, drained
Zest from 2 lemons
Juice from 2 lemons
2 boxes vegetable broth
1 ½ t. salt
1 bay leaf
1 t. cumin
½ t. pepper
1 -  9.5 oz jar artichoke hearts in water, drained
3 large cloves garlic, minced

Instructions

Place the dried mushrooms in a small dish and cover with boiling water.  Let stand while leeks and shitake mushrooms are cooking.

In a large stock pot, sauté leeks and shitake mushrooms in dry skillet.  Cook until they start to sweat and then caramelize.  Add 1 clove of garlic and cook an additional minute.

Next add in the remaining ingredients; dried mushrooms including the water, the cabbage, kidney beans, lemon zest, lemon juice, vegetable broth, salt, bay leaf, cumin, pepper, artichoke hearts and remaining garlic. 

Stir all ingredients together well.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.  Cook for approximately 1 hour.  Adjust seasonings and serve.