Veggie Foodie

Ingredients:

For soup:

• Vegetables – Onions, potatoes, celery, carrots, broccoli and zucchini – 1 cup each, cut in small / medium size cubes
• Tomato – 1 large, chopped
• Olive oil – 1 Tbs
• Vegetable broth – 3 cups
• Beans, Cannellini (creamy white Italian beans), cooked, 1 cup
• Oregano – ½ Tsp
• Basil – ½ Tsp
• Thyme – ¼ Tsp
• Black pepper – ¼ Tsp
• Salt to taste

For pesto:

• Basil – Sweet (Italian), 1 cup
• Garlic – 2 large cloves
• Olive oil – 2 Tbs
• Pine nuts – 2 Tbs
• Cheese – Parmesan, grated, 2 Tbs
• Salt to taste

For crotons:

• Any hearty bread (I used whole grain loaf from La Brea Bakery, available at Costco in their bakery section)
• Olive oil – 1 Tbs
• Salt to taste

Method:

Soup

1. Heat the oil in a deep pan
2. Add vegetables (not tomatoes) and cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly
3. Add vegetable broth, cooked beans and spices (oregano, basil, thyme, pepper) and cook for 20-25 minutes, till all the vegetables are cooked tender
4. Add tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes
5. Add salt, based on the salt-level in the broth
6. While serving hot, stir in ½ Tsp of pesto in the soup and top it with crotons

Pesto

Mix all the ingredients in a mixer into a fine paste

Crotons

1. Cut the bread into ¾ inch cubes
2. Mix the bread with oil and salt
3. Bake the bread pieces in an oven at about 350 F for 15 minutes, till it becomes lightly brown

Serves: 4

Remarks:

This hearty soup can have several variations and this one is an attempt to recreate what’s served at Pasta Pomodoro restaurants. Along with whole wheat crotons, it makes a one-dish-meal!

Note that the pesto is an absolutely critical element of this recipe!!