Delicious dishes.

Minestrone Soup

This is my slight variation on Mark Bittman's recipe. It was absolutely delicious, filling and healthy. It made about 6 good size bowl-fuls. It's a great way to clear out the fridge!

Ingredients

1/4 c extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

2 c hard vegetables (such as potatoes, winter squash, parsnips or turnips, cut into a 1/2 inch dice)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

6-8 c vegetable stock

1 15.5 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes (and juice)

2 c soft vegetables (such as green beans, zucchini, beans, squash, kale, collards)

1/2 c chopped parsley leaves

Small pasta (I used about 1/4 of a box of small whole wheat shells)

Freshly grated parmesan (optional--for serving)

Directions

Put 3 tablespoons of the oil into a large pot. When the oil is hot, add onions, celery and carrot. Cook until the onion is soft.

Add the hard vegetables and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for a minute or two. Add the stock, tomato and juice from the tomato can. Bring to a boil. Add pasta. Adjust the heat so that it bubbles gently. Cook for about 15 minutes (until the hard vegetables are on the soft side).

Add the soft vegetables and parsley. Cook until all the vegetables are very tender, about 15 more minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as necessary. Add the remaining olive oil. Serve topped with cheese.

*For the hard vegetables, I used potatoes. For the soft vegetables, I used zucchini, yellow squash and green beans. I also used slightly more celery and carrots than the recipe calls for (they add color and nutrients!)