Winter Minestrone Soup

Enjoy the rich, flavorful broth loaded with fresh seasonal vegetables, white beans and Chickapea Pasta! This soup is super easy to make, it’s filling, healthy, hearty and delicious.

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 50 mins

Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins

Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons (45 mL) extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 3 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small zucchini, thick sliced and quartered
• 1 medium russet potato, peeled and cubed
• 1 bunch of swiss chard, ribs removed, leaves rough chopped
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) salt, more or less to taste
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) fresh thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon (2.5 mL) Italian Seasoning
• 2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes (407 mL) (low salt), do not drain
• 1 (32-ounce) container of vegetable broth (960 mL) (low salt)
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can cannellini beans (407 ml) rinsed and drained
• 1 cup (250 mL) water
• 1 Parmesan rind
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) chopped fresh basil leaves
• 2 cups (280 g) Chickapea Shell Pasta (cooked 5 minutes and drained)
• Fresh grated or sliced Parmesan for garnish

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy bottom soup pot on medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring frequently until the onion is soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and sauté, stirring constantly, until fragrant. Add the zucchini, potato and Swiss chard, season with pepper, salt, thyme and Italian Seasoning and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the canned tomatoes. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the chard is wilted and tomatoes are soft, about 10 minutes.  
3. Add the vegetable broth, bay leaf, and Parmesan rind to the tomato and vegetable mixture. Combine 1/2 of the drained and rinsed cannellini beans with 1 cup of water and puree with a stick or immersion blender until almost smooth. (A regular blender or food processor are fine too.) Add the pureed beans to the soup and simmer, stirring occasionally until the potato is tender, about 15 minutes.
4. While the soup is simmering, cook the Chickapea Pasta in boiling, salted water for 5 minutes. For the shell shaped pasta, be sure to add it slowly to the boiling water, stirring to ensure the pasta does not stick together. Drain before adding to the soup.
5. Add the remaining beans, parsley, basil and cooked Chickapea Pasta shells. Simmer until the soup thickens and is heated through.  Discard the bay leaf and Parmesan rind, check the seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.  
6. Ladle the soup into bowls, garnish with additional fresh basil or parsley and shredded Parmesan cheese.

Recipe Notes

• Save your Parmesan rinds in the freezer and add to soups and sauces for an extra punch of flavor. Some finer grocery stores sell Parmesan rinds in their cheese shops.
• Substitute kale for the Swiss chard if desired. Fresh spinach leaves would also be great in this soup but don’t add those until the end. Spinach wilts quickly and doesn’t need much time to cook.
• Any shape or variety of Chickapea Pasta will be great in this soup recipe.  
• This soup also freezes beautifully!