Minestrone Soup – The Free Form Version

When it comes to food, we all have different tastes, so I have included a few variations depending on what feels right for your body and what you love.

Ingredients:

• Garlic – about 5 cloves depending on your taste, crushed
• Onion – 1 to 2, roughly diced
• Carrots – 2 to 3, diced
• Zucchini – 2 to 3, diced
• Potato – 1 large, diced
• Capsicum – 1 large, diced
• Green beans – about 1 cup, sliced into lengths that would fit on your spoon
• Celery – 2 stalks, diced
• Corn – 1 fresh cob
• Kidney beans – 1 tin
• Tomato paste –  4 to 5 tablespoons 
• Herbs – any that you like, such as thyme, basil, oregano, bay leaves, chili, parsley, paprika
• Vegetable stock – about 1L (or water)
• Diced tomatoes - 2 tins (or half passatta and half diced tomatoes)
• Additional veggies you may like to add or substitute – mushrooms, eggplant, spinach, peas
• Additions – olive oil, sugar, salt, pepper, pasta (traditional but optional)

Method:

1. Place the onions, garlic and chili (optional) into a large pot with some olive oil. You may like to add celery (I like to add it later so it still has a bit of crunch). Allow these to cook for a few minutes before adding in your potatoes and carrots. Let this mixture cook for about 5 minutes stirring often so it doesn’t stick.
2. Add about 500ml of stock and the tomato paste, then allow the hard veggies to cook for about 10 more minutes.
3. You can now add in veggies such as capsicum, green beans, celery, kidney beans and herbs, along with your diced tomatoes and the rest of your stock. Let this cook for another 10 minutes.
4. Add the corn, zucchini, peas or lighter veggies and check the balance of liquid to veg (if you are adding pasta, now may be a good time to do so). You may like to add in more stock/water/tomatoes depending on how thick/watery you want the mixture. I would recommend adding a teaspoon or two of sugar to balance the acidity of the tomato and add salt (a high-quality pink Himalayan or rock salt) and pepper to taste.
5. Allow your mixture to simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour depending on how cooked you like your veg.

Enjoy with delicious, fresh sourdough bread/toast in the company of your loved ones.