I love minestrone soup. This is my to-go soup when I am in a soupy mood. This is very easy to make and is virtually fat-free with the wholesome goodness of vegetables & beans.

I made this soup on Sunday and BB just loved it. He ate it with almost everything I cooked this weekend.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Ingredients:

• A handful of dry kidney beans, soaked overnight and pressure cooked till soft
• Half cup each of chopped vegetables ( you can use any combination, I used a combination of carrots, green peppers, cabbage, spinach and potatoes). Just avoid vegetables like ladies fingers etc which turn to mush when boiled
• 1 tsp finely chopped garlic
• 1-2 tsps of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 handful of macaroni (I used fusili)
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• Half a tin of tomato paste
• Seasoning like Italian herbs, salt, red chilli powder, cumin seed powder

Method:
Heat the EVOO and put the chopped garlic in and let it brown slightly. Then add the onions and saute till it turns translucent. After that add the chopped vegetables and saute it for a while. Add the kidney beans and the seasoning now and turn it around a couple of times to mix it well. Next add the tomatoes and the tomato paste and add about a cup of water and let it boil. Once the soup comes to a boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer till the vegetables are almost cooked. This should be around 20 minutes. When the vegetables are almost cooked, throw in the macaroni and let it cook till al dente. Check for taste and take it off the gas. If at this point, you feel the soup is too thick, add in some water before you check for seasoning. Enjoy…