Minestrone
This simple, hearty, lean soup will warm your body and soul any time the weather makes you want to nestle on the couch under a blanket. With a slice of bread and margarine, it is a perfect workout recovery meal that will hydrate and nourish you.
Recipe inspired from Vegan Richa.
Ingredients
- 2 tsp olive oil (9g)
- 60g chopped onion
- 12g crushed garlic
- 50g chopped celery or bok choy
- 125g raw (250g cooked) white or red beans
- 125g chopped zucchini
- 100g chopped carrots
- 700g chopped tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/4 tsp thyme
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 65g small pasta (wheat or legume pasta)
- 30g spinach (fresh or frozen)
- 1 tbsp dried basil, or > 3 tbsp fresh basil
- vegan parmesan for topping (optional)
Instructions
- If you are using raw beans, soak them for > 8h, drain them, boil them, drain, and reserve while you prepare the rest.
- Heat up olive oil in a pot over medium heat, and fry the onion for a few minutes.
- Add crushed garlic and keep frying until it no longer smells raw.
- Add vegetables, and fry for another few minutes.
- Add herbs, salt, pepper, and tomatoes. Mix well, and let it cook for ~5 min.
- Add cooked beans, a little bit of water, and let it simmer for as long as desired for flavours to infuse, but not long enough to turn veggies to mush.
- In a separate saucepan, cook pasta al dente, drain, and reserve.
- Add the pasta to the soup when you are about to serve it. Cooking the pasta inside the soup, or letting it sit in the soup for a long time, will make the dish soggy and the texture unpleasant. I therefore recommend you keep the cooked pasta separately and only serve it with the soup when you are just about to eat it.
- Savour this soup with a slice of bread spread with vegan margarine, or sprinkle vegan parmesan on top!