Last week, a generous farmer from Ohio who was a judge on Iron Chef America delivered an abundance of vegetables.  The table outside of our programming offices was piled high with fresh root veggies, potatoes, salad greens, micro greens, and herbs.  Being invited to take a bag, I snatched up a colorful array of beets, carrots, turnips, and parsnips. 

Now, I was stuck with decisions...  I could have just roasted them, but I really wanted soup... soup with beans, to be precise.

After washing and dressing the little treasures with EVOO, S/P and some parsley, I threw them into the oven at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes.  On top of the stove, I brought some chicken stock and lemon juice to a simmer with oregano and more parsley.  When all was ready, into the blender with the lot of them!  I returned them to a pot, and added my white cannellini beans for some extra texture.

The soup was sweet, salty, earthy, bright, and very colorful!  Perfect for a cold winters evening and definitely started preparing me for the flavors of spring.

Pictured: Michael Chiarello's "Super Tuscan" White Bean Soup