Minestrone soup is one of my favorite hot foods for cold weather. When we returned home from Russia and the Baltic states last week, Mr. Right and I were both craving fruits and vegetables. Yes, we did eat well while traveling, but we just didn’t get the amounts of fruits and veggies that we eat around here on a daily basis. I often call some of our trips to Europe the “cheese and bread tours” because it seems I eat way too much cheese and way too much bread, but they are always so darn good. So, anyway, on our first full day back home, the temperatures were going to peak in the high 60’s, and in my book, that’s soup weather. I was thinking maybe chili or potato soup, but then minestrone popped into my mind. I made sure to buy all of the ingredients on my grocery run, and it was easy enough to make in time for lunch. I like thick soups that almost resemble stews, and this one does look like a stew. This is my recipe, and I just basically added ingredients, but for the blog, I will break those ingredients down into amounts. This recipe makes four to six servings.
Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 46-ounce can tomato juice
- 2 12-ounce bags frozen mixed vegetables
- 1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained
- 2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup pasta (I used penne)
- Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
- In a large pot, saute onion in oil till tender.
- Add stock, juice, vegetables, potatoes, garbanzo beans, oregano, salt, and pepper and cook till vegetables and potatoes are done. Then add pasta and cook till the pasta is done. Serve in soup bowls and top with grated Parmesan cheese.
Can be vegan or paleo
If you want to go the vegan or paleo route, just use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock and eliminate the pasta.
What to serve with it
This minestrone soup is great served with garlic bread or this pesto monkey bread. You can even serve a nice, hearty salad like this one as a first course. For dessert, let’s go with this apple pie baked apples or this pumpkin pie cake. It sounds like a lot of food, but on cool days, our bodies just might need a little more. This is a great week-day meal but is good enough to serve on the week-end to guests or even at a tailgating party. Enjoy!
Take care.
