MoFo 6: My Beloved Minestrone Recipe

Do you love a giant pot of soup that is full of everything good all at once? Do you love tomatoey goodness, plus beans, plus pasta, plus veggies, plus Yum Town? If you answered "yes," then my minestrone soup is just right for you!

I love minestrone soup so much. My recipe is a combined version of two different recipes from Donna Klein's book "Vegan Mediterranean Kitchen." One of her minestrone recipes involves soaking all your own beans and is full of veggies, and the other is a "weeknight" version with canned beans and way fewer veggies. Well, I wanted the best of both worlds! So, after years of just hacking my way halfway between the two recipes, I finally wrote down my methods... and now it's my official go-to for Minestrone Soup.

Don't be scared by all the ingredients. Just leave something out if you want to be lazy, or add something in instead if you want. It comes together quickly, and makes a LOT, so you can have leftovers for sure.

Amey's Minestrone Soup

    (inspired by Donna Klein!)

    makes 1 giant pot of soup

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups veggie broth (I use Low Sodium or homemade)
28 oz can of diced tomatoes; or 2 lbs fresh tomatoes, diced or quartered
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp dry thyme
1/4 tsp dry sage
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
8 oz potatoes, 1/2 inch dice
4-6 oz green beans, cut in 1-inch pieces
2 cups shredded green cabbage
1-2 cans Great Northern Beans, drained (or 1.5-3 cups cooked white beans)
1/2 cup small pasta (i love the brown rice pasta shells)
2 small zucchini/summer squash, quartered, and cut in 1/2 inch dice
4 ounces spinach, washed and shredded
1/3 cup parsley

Directions:
Put the oil in a big soup pot and warm it over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery. Cook for about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the garlic, and cook 1 minute more.

Add the broth, tomatoes & their juices, tomato paste, thyme, sage, bay leaves, salt & pepper, potatoes, green beans, and cabbage. Bring to a boil, simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes

Add the beans, pasta, zucchini, spinach & parsley. Cook 10-15 minutes more.

Turn off the heat, and let the soup sit for a little bit to cool down and for the flavors to meld. During this time you can make toast or do some sit ups or surf the web. Or whatever.

Enjoy your minestrone!!!

A lot of times, including this time, I just added tons of extra veggies - because why not? - and so it's more like Minestrone Stew! I love it so much. Bursting with flavor and veggies and beans - it's a complete meal all in one big bowl!