Vegetarian Minestrone Soup

When it comes to soup, I like Tomato soup any time of the day, as a snack or appetizer. But when I think of soup for lunch or dinner, I prefer ‘Minestrone soup’, ‘Black bean soup’ or ‘Vegetarian chili’.

Today I am making this classic Italian ”Minestrone Soup’ with a slight Indian touch. The goodness of this soup is, you can add any kind of vegetables, even green leafy vegetables and it tastes awesome. This is a heart healthy food and definatley a one pot meal.

The key ingredient in this soup is Red kidney beans, carrots, bell pepper, Celery.

Croutons and cheese adds additional flavor and gives that warm comforting on a cold or rainy day.

Here is the recipe

• 1 Cup of boiled ‘Red kidney beans /Rajma’  or 1 medium can of drained ‘Red kidney beans’
• 3 tomatoes chopped / 1 small can of crushed tomatoes
• 6 cups water
• 2 small Zucchini, diced (Optional)
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 medium bell pepper / Capsicum
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 jalapeno diced (Optional)
• 2 potatoes peeled and diced
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped fine
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup dry / uncooked pasta (Optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tsp dry red pepper flakes / 2 dry red pepper (optional)
• 2 Garlic cloves finely chopped
• Croutons
• Shredded Cheese

Minestrone Soup Ingredients

Directions

1. In a large sauce pan heat 2 Tbsp Olive oil. Sauté onion, bay leaf, garlic and red pepper for 2 min. ( cooking red pepper gives that smoky flavour to the soup, this is optional)
2. Add celery, carrot, bell pepper, potaotes, jalapenos and sauté  it for 1min. Add salt and cover it, let t cook for 5 min. stirring occasionally.
3. Add tomatoes, stir it and let it cook for 3 min. Add red kidney beans and let it cook with other vegetables for 3 min.
4. Add chili powder and black pepper according to your taste.
5. Add 6 cups of water cover and simmer for 15 min.
6. Bring the soup to a boil and add pasta. (you can skip this step if you don’t want pasta or on a carb diet)
7. Add dry basil and simmer the whole soup till the desired consistency.
8. Serve it with your choice of shredded cheese (I like mine with shredded cheddar and mozzarella), croutons and some green onions.

Minestrone Soup