Minestrone Soup

A hardy soup that’s super tasty, containing beans, vegetables, and gluten-free pasta. It’s a perfect warm meal on a cold winter’s day, or any day!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup gluten-free pasta shells
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 carrots, sliced into 1/4-inch round pieces
• 2 celery ribs, sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
• 4 cup gluten-free vegetable broth
• 4 cups filtered water
• 1(15-ounce) can cannelloni beans
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 medium Zucchini, chopped into bite-size pieces
• 1 cup green beans, cut into bite-size lengths
• 6 green chard leaves, stems removed, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon dry Italian seasoning*
• 1 teaspoon Himalayan salt, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
• 1/4 small turnip, grated, to garnish (optional)
• 4 to 6 fresh basil leaves, to garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Place in a colander in the sink, rinse with cold running water, then let sit until ready for use.
2. In a large pot, sauté onions and garlic on medium-low heat for 3 minutes or until the onions are just translucent. If they stick to the pot add a little water.
3. Mix in the carrots and celery, then add the vegetable stock and water. Cook for 15 minutes or until the just tender.
4. Mix in the beans, tomatoes, green chard, fresh parsley, and seasonings. Cook 2 minutes more, or until the green chard is wilted and the beans are hot. Ladle into soup bowls, add to each a desired amount of the cooked pasta, garnish with the grated turnip and basil leaves, then serve alone or with Socca or Flax Seed Crackers.

Variations:

1. To give the broth a slight flavor of cheese, without using any cheese, place 2 teaspoons of finely ground Tapioca Flower in a small bowl and gradually mix in 3 tablespoons of water until smooth, then mix in 2 tablespoons of of nutritional yeast for a thick liquid. Add more nutritional yeast if too thin, or more water if too thick to pour. Pour the liquid into the soup, before adding the cooked beans and pasta.
2. Replace the canned white beans with other canned beans, such as pinto beans, kidney beans, or even lentils. You can also use dry beans that have been soaked and precooked, then drained and cooled. Visit our Legumes Cooking Chart for more information on cooking dried beans.
3. Rather than discarding the stems from the green chard leaves, you can chop them into bite-size pieces and add them to the soup when adding the celery.

Yield:
Makes 6 to 8 servings

*If you don’t have on hand dry Italian seasoning, you can use 1 teaspoon each of dry oregano, thyme, and basil. If you prefer to use fresh minced herbs, the rule of thumb for most herbs is that 1 part dried is equal to 3 parts fresh, so 1 teaspoon of dried herbs equals 1 tablespoon of fresh.

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save