Minestrone Soup

Oh boy, I’ve done it this time. I have made some of the best minestrone soup I have ever tasted, and it is because I just used the ingredients I had in the house. I usually put mushrooms in it, because I love mushrooms, but the ones I had-had gone south.

So, I only used some fresh zucchini, yellow squash, onion, garlic and then canned stewed tomatoes, (stewed are perfect for minestrone) garbanzo beans, and great northern beans. I actually liked it better without the mushrooms.

More of a purist’s minestrone.

The secret vegan ingredients are Knorr Vegetarian Vegetable Bouillon and Soymage Vegan Parmesan Alternative.

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Minestrone Soup
2 small onions
2 zucchini
2 yellow squash
2-3 cloves garlic
2 cans stewed tomatoes
4-5 Knorr Vegetarian Vegetable Bouillon
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can great northern beans
dried basil – 1 tablespoon or so
salt & pepper
olive oil
5 cups water
4oz. tomato sauce – 1/2 of a small, 8oz can of tomato sauce
1 box elbow macaroni or ditalini

1.) Cut up the onions, slice zucchini and squash, and mince garlic.
2.) Pour about a tablespoon or so of olive oil into a big soup pot over med-high heat. Toss in the onion, zucchini and squash. Saute until onion becomes almost translucent. Add the basil, season with salt & pepper. Add the minced garlic and saute another few moments until before the garlic browns.
3.) Put the Knorr Vegetarian Vegetable Bouillon into the pot, smash it with a wooden spoon while the garlic is cooking and then pour in the 5 cups water. Decide between 4-5 veg. cubes and the amount of tomato sauce according to your own taste.
4.) Add the stewed tomatoes and the tomato sauce and bring to a low boil, then turn it down right away to a simmer.
5.) Add the beans and let it cook on low to combine the ingredients. At least 10 minutes, but not too long, watch that the zucchini doesn’t get too mushy.
6.) While the soup is cooking, make the elbows or ditalini. I make the pasta separately instead of tossing it in the soup. I think it tastes better in this instance and more importantly, the soup stays good for days and the pasta never gets mushy. I save the pasta in a Ziploc bag and then add a little to each bowl separately as I prepare them, for however long I have soup leftover. So cook the pasta according to instructions on the box, then drain it in a strainer and rinse it in cold water to stop it from cooking.
7.) Place a handful of pasta in the bottom of a bowl, ladle the minestrone soup on top of it and shake some Vegan Parmesan on top of that. Yum, yum, yum!

To me, this is a great meal. Add some vegan garlic bread if you need something more, but with the beans and pasta, the soup is plenty satisfying.