Rich, Creamy Vegetarian Soup!

This rich, creamy vegetarian soup is perfect for a fall afternoon curled up with a good book. My meat-eating-and-loving husband LOVES this soup, despite it being vegetarian! I wish I could take credit for this recipe, but alas, it's from Vegetarian Times.

Ingredients:

Soup

• 2 Tbs. olive oil

• 4 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced 1/4-inch thick (2 cups)

• 1 large onion, diced (1 1/2 cups)

• 3/4 tsp. dried Italian seasoning

• 7 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

• 4 oz. pappardelle noodles

• 1 1/2 cups green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces

• 1/3 cup mascarpone cheese

Gremolata

• 1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley

• 1 clove garlic, peeled

• 2 tsp. grated lemon zest

Preparation

Soup: Heat oil in pot over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and onion, and sauté 5 minutes. Stir in Italian seasoning, then broth. Cover, and bring to a boil. Set aside 1/2 cup broth, then add noodles; simmer 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add green beans, and simmer 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk reserved 1/2 cup broth into mascarpone in bowl. Slowly stir mascarpone mixture into Soup.

Gremolata: pulse parsley, garlic, and lemon zest in food processor until finely chopped. Ladle Soup into bowls. Garnish each with 2 tsp. Gremolata.