Substantial

Hearty Vegetable Soup

13 May 2017

ingredients

1 - 2 Onion, Red or brown

1 - 2 Leeks

2 Carrots

2 Celery Stick

1 Turnip, Optional

1 Swede, Optional

1 - 2 Zucchini

¼ Cabbage - green

1 bunch Rainbow Chard or Silver Beet

750 g Tomatoes, Skinned and chopped

150 g Green Beans

400 g Cooked cannelini beans

½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 - 2 cups Risoni or other small pasta, Cooked, optional

½ cup Parsley, chopped

1 cup Paremsan Cheese, grated

equipment

Chopping board; Paring knife; Cooks knife; strainer; Large soup pot; Cheese grater

method

Step 1.

Prepare the vegetables:

Skin and dice the onions.

Remove the green outer leaves of the leek, rinse the remaining white part well, ridding it of any dirt, chop into rings.

Peel and dice the carrot, swede, and turnip.

Rinse and finely chop the celery.

Top and tail the zucchini - do not peel, chop into dice.

Remove the core from the cabbage and chop the leaves finely. Rinse well.

Trim the ends of the Swiss Chard or Silver beet and chop finely - all of the stalks and the leaves. Rinse well.

Top and tail the beans - chopped into 3 or 4 pieces.

Drain and rinse the cannellini beans.

Step 2.

Place a heavy based 5-liter pot over gentle to moderate heat:

Add the olive oil and gently cook the onions and leeks for about 5 - 10 minutes.

Add the carrots, stirring to soften for a minute or two, follow these with the celery, the turnip, and the swede, sweating each vegetable as you go.

Add the cabbage, season with salt and pepper, stir well, cover the pot and cook gently for 10 minutes.

Add the silver beet and cook it gently for another 10 minutes or so.

Add the chopped tomatoes.

Cover all of the vegetables with cold water and bring to a slow simmer. Continue cooking for about 30 or 40 minutes or until all of the vegetables are tender.

Just before serving, check the seasoning then stir in the green beans, the tinned beans and the drained cooked pasta.

Step 3.

To serve:

Ladle the soup onto heated serving plates, garnish with chopped parsley, serve with extra olive oil, salt and pepper and parmesan cheese.

source

Recipe by

Adapted by Elizabeth Peddey