Minestrone Soup: Healthy Homemade Goodness

Often times our dinner du jour is a one pot meal, or something close to that.  In the recent weeks, as I explore a variety of vegetarian meals and try to cut down on meat, I’ve fallen back on Minestrone Soup as the perfect dinner meal for my family.

I tried cooking this sometime back and was surprised that hubby actually liked it, claiming that he felt healthier after eating it.  I’ve cooked it a few more times after that, and even though the kids don’t really enjoy it a whole lot, they down their bowl anyway.

Well, the beauty of the Minestrone Soup is that you can pretty much add in anything you have on hand and not risk spoiling the flavor.  On the contrary, you might enhance it further too!

You can also serve it with any kind of toasted bread, your favorite pasta or even steamed rice.  Or if you’re really lazy or short on time, it can be eaten as is.

Minestrone Soup

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, bruised and left whole.
• 1 brown/yellow onion, sliced thinly
• 1-2 stalks celery, chopped
• 10-15 white/brown button mushrooms, cut into quarters.
• 1 bay leaf
• Italian seasoning to taste
• 2-3 cups water
• 1 carrot, cut into pieces. (For added interest, try using purple carrots)
• 1 cucumber, cut into pieces.
• 2 tbsp tomato puree or tomato pasta sauce
• 2 tomatoes, sliced into eighths
• 2 cubes chicken stock (or 1 cup chicken/beef/vegetable broth)
• Italian parsley, chopped (for garnishing)
• Sweet basil, chopped (for garnishing)
• Pasta or bread
• Optional: organic beans, soaked.

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large pot.  I use my Dutch oven which is perfect for soups like these.
2. Sautée the garlic and onions until soft, about 1-2 minutes.
3. Add in mushrooms, celery and carrots, with a dash or two of Italian seasoning.
4. Add in the bay leaf and tomato puree or pasta sauce.  Stir fry for about 5 minutes.
5. Add in the water and bring to boil.
6. Add in cucumber and tomato slices, simmer for about 15 minutes.
7. Add chicken stock cubes or broth, simmer for another 20-30 minutes.  Just heat up right before serving.
8. In a separate pot, boil your pasta if you’re using that.  Drain the pasta when it is al dente and pour the minestrone soup over it.  Serve hot, with a sprinkle of parsley and basil.
9. Alternatively, serve the minestrone soup with toasted bread and butter.