This is a favourite soup of mine. Its flavourful, colourful and filling, a great winter warming soup. It is made combining seasonal vegetables, herbs, spices and pasta in a vegetable stock. The addition of chilli for a little heat is optional and adds a rich warming taste.
Be creative when making this soup, use what you have available, you may have left over vegetables that need using, take out and add in what you desire. Any leftover soup may be placed in the freezer for a future meal. I usually make a double recipe and measure and freeze individual meal servings.
Enjoy the soup with focaccia find recipe here.
EQUIPMENT
A large cooking pot or stock pot.
INGREDIENTS
150g leek, finely chopped
160g brown onion, finely chopped
130g carrot, finely diced
110g turnip diced
130g swede, diced
100g zucchini, diced
1 heaped tablespoon Italian dried herbs
1 teaspoon turmeric (optional)
1/4 -1/2 teaspoon chilli powder (optional)
6 - 8 cups of vegetable broth or 6-8 cups of water plus 5 vegetable stock cubes
90g uncooked pasta shells
4 tablespoons tomato paste
400g tinned tomatoes organic, (crushed or diced)
400g tinned chickpeas or other beans cooked
4-6 tablespoons of nutritional yeast flakes
1-1/2 teaspoons sweetener (optional)
3/4 cup Italian parsley, finely chopped for garnish
Light tasting cooking oil, leave out if oil free and saute in a little water before adding stock
METHOD
*Prepare and chop or dice leek, onion, carrot, turnip, swede and zucchini into small bite size pieces.
*Heat a stock pot on low heat and add 2-3 tablespoons of cooking oil. If oil free add small amount of water to saute' vegetables.
*Add leek, onion, carrot, turnip, swede and zucchini, saute' while stirring for a couple of minutes until vegetables begin to sweat down.
*Add Italian herbs, turmeric and chilli powder continue to sauté and stir another couple of minutes.
*Add vegetable broth or water and stock cubes, turn heat up to high, once it comes to a boil turn heat down to a gentle simmer and cook until vegetables are just tender.
*While vegetables are cooking take a saucepan and heat up enough water to cook the pasta shells.
*Once water has come to a boil add a 1/2 teaspoon of salt add pasta shells and cook until al dente, drain pasta and set aside.
*When vegetables are tender add drained cooked pasta shells, tomato paste, crushed or diced cooked tomatoes, beans and nutritional yeast flakes.
*Continue cooking for another ten minutes to combine the flavours.
*If you want more liquid in your soup now is the time to add it. Sometimes I add another 2 cups of water and another stock cube.
*Taste for flavour add more seasoning etc if needed. Add sweetener now if you choose to, it brings all the flavours together.
*Finally add fresh parsley stir in and leave.
Σχόλια