Minestrone Soup..A healthy, winter delight

Hello everyone…Happy New Year. I wish you guys have a great year ahead. We welcomed the new year with family and friends and it was wonderful. My little one is back to school after her holiday break and we all are slowly getting into routine. What the new year also brought for us was our first snow of the season. It was all white and beautiful and my daughter absolutely loved it. 🙂

The winter is in its full swing right now with sub zero temperatures in our part of the world. We are trying our best to enjoy the cozy nights, snow ball fights, hot chocolate and of course a warm bowl of soup. Cause hey, you can’t really change the weather, all you can do is change your attitude and enjoy what life brings to you. 🙂

I made this hearty minestrone soup on one of these cold winter nights (Temperature 9F or -13C ) and it really lifted up our spirits. Its healthy, delicious and comforting. We relished it with some warm bread and embraced the beautiful winter night. Winter or not, this soup is delicious and can be enjoyed all year around. Lets make some…

Ingredients:

Olive Oil – 2 tbsp.

Onion – 1 medium, diced

Garlic – 4 cloves, minced

Carrots – 2 medium, diced

Celery – 2 medium, diced

Zucchini – 1 medium, diced

Chopped Spinach – 2 cups

Tomato puree – 2 cups

Vegetable Stock – 6 cups

Boiled White or Garbanzo Beans – 1 cup, (rinse and drain if using canned)

Boiled Red Kidney Beans – 1 cup (rinse and drain if using canned)

Small Shelled pasta – 1/2 cup (Use your choice of pasta)

Salt and pepper to taste

Italian Seasoning – 2 tsp

Bay leaf – 1

grated cheese for garnish

Method:

1. Heat oil in a large pot, and add in the minced garlic and chopped onions. Let it cook for a few minutes.
2. Add the chopped carrots, zucchini and celery and cook for about 5 minutes.
3. Next add in the tomato puree and let it cook for another 3 minutes.
4. Finally, mix in the vegetable stock, beans, spinach, Italian seasoning, bay leaf, salt and pepper and let the soup cook for at least 20 minutes, on medium flame, stirring occasionally.
5. While the soup is simmering, cook your pasta, al-Dante. I like to cook it separately, because if you add it in the soup, the pasta ends up soaking all the liquid.
6. Once the soup has cooked for at least 20 minutes and has thickened up to your preference, give a final taste test and mix in the cooked pasta and switch of the gas. You can also mix the cooked pasta in the soup bowl to avoid thickening of the entire soup.
7. Garnish it with some shredded cheese and enjoy this warm bowl of goodness.

So that is how I made this delicious soup and warmed up a very cold winter night. Do let me know if you try it out.

Thanks for stopping by.

Love,

Ritu. 🙂