How to Make Minestrone Soup

Zucchini is one of the ingredients of this satisfying soup which is a meal in itself with lots leftover to take to work for lunch the next day or is fine to freeze.  This Minestrone soup is nutritious and filling and really is so much better for you than out of a can without added preservatives, etc!  This makes a tasty dinner with homemade bread.  Every family has their version of this soup and here is our vegetarian favourite.

Minestrone Ingredients

• A generous amount of olive oil for sauteing vegetables
• 5 – 6 cups of vegetable stock ** (1)
• 2 – 3 onions, chopped
• 2 – 4 carrots, chopped
• 2- 3 potatoes, chopped into one inch or bigger chunks
• 1 Zucchini, chopped into one inch or bigger chunks
• 1 / 2 – one head of garlic, diced
• 1 jar of home canned crushed tomatoes (two cup quantity)
• One can kidney beans (540 ml) ** (2)
• 1 cup small pasta shells
• Equal parts dried basil and oregano (at least one tablespoon each)

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large pot on medium high (lower if using olive oil)
2. Saute onions until slightly brown
3. Add garlic and cook till slightly brown
4. Add vegetable stock to the pot
5. Add basil, oregano, and pepper (salt if you wish)
6. Add carrots, bring to boil, reduce to medium once boiling, cover, wait 6 minutes
7. Add potatoes, bring to boil, reduce to medium once boiling, cover, waiting 15 minutes
8. Add zucchini and crushed tomatoes, bring to boil, reduce to medium once boiling, cover, waiting 6 minutes stirring occasionally
9. Add kidney beans and pasta shells, bring to boil, reduce to medium once boiling, stir frequently for 10 minutes (soup will stick to pot at this point if you don't stir often)
10. Keep cooking until minestrone is at desired consistency (approximately 10 minutes more)

Eat it up ! Mmmmm Marvellous!

Extra Notes  **

This soup is so thick it's more like a stew.

Note (1) Oxo cubes and other soup stocks are laced with chemicals especially food enhancers (MSG)– if you do not have home made stock it is preferable to use fresh water. From the Oxo cube site here are some of the following additives used (not complete):

Beef : Salt, Yeast Extract, Flavour Enhancers (MSG and Disodium Guanylate) Colour (Ammonia Caramel) Sugar, etc.

Chicken : MSG and Disodium 5'-ribonucleotides, Yeast Extract, Glucose, Fat, Sugar, Extracts and flavours and Ammonia Caramel Colour.

Note (2) As we are trying to reduce use of canned food (due to Bisphenol A in the linings of tins) if time permits, precook your own kidney beans from dry. BPA is in most (all?) linings of food cans and it is highly recommended that pregnant mothers and infant children greatly limit tinned food.

Make an extra pot of soup for a busy working mum - kids love the noodles.

As stated in the introduction, this soup is a great nourishing and satisfying meal on a cold, snowy winter's day - with fresh homemade bread.  Mmmmmm!