Peruvian Menestron Soup

This is a wonderful-tasting authentic soup, not to mention it's very healthy for you. I lived in Peru for a couple of years, it's one of my all-time favorites! I know it has a lot of ingredients but it's worth eating! Substitute garbanzo beans with white beans if desired. Fresh corn, lima beans, and peas can be used instead of frozen. If you want more amounts of the vegetables, add some more. I usually eyeball the amount. Enjoy!

• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 45 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins
• Calories: 429 Calories

Ingredients

• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 4 leaves fresh basil
• 1 large potato, peeled and cubed
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, or as needed
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• ½ cup frozen peas
• ½ cup frozen corn
• 1 tablespoon water, or as needed
• 1 pound beef stew meat, cubed
• 10 cups water, or as needed
• 1 tomato - peeled, seeded, and diced
• ½ (15.5 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• ½ cup frozen lima beans
• ¼ cup chopped cabbage, or more to taste
• ⅓ (16 ounce) box fettuccine
• ¾ cup crumbled cotija cheese
• 7 large fresh spinach leaves

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Heat oil in a pot over medium heat; saute onion, tomato, and garlic until onion is softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add beef and salt to taste; cook and stir until beef is mostly cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.

Step 2

Pour about 10 cups water over beef mixture; add garbanzo beans, corn, lima beans, celery, carrot, and cabbage. Boil mixture until vegetables are mostly tender, about 10 minutes.

Step 3

Stir potatoes, peas, and fettuccine into vegetable-beef mixture; cook until potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

Step 4

Blend cotija cheese, spinach, basil, and about 1 tablespoon water in a blender until smooth and liquefied, adding more water as needed. Pour cheese mixture into soup; cook until soup is green and cooked through, about 4 more minutes. Season with more salt if desired.