Vegetarian Bean Pasta Soup
A quick and easy vegetable bean pasta soup made using staple pantry ingredients like pasta, canned beans, tomatoes, celery, carrots, onions, zucchini, cabbage (whatever veg you have on hand) and dried herbs and spices.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion finely diced
- 1 carrot finely diced
- 2 celery sticks finely diced
- 1 tbsp dried Italian herbs
- 1-2 dried bay leaf
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups water
- 1 can tomatoes App. 400 grams
- 1 can Lima Beans App. 400 grams
- 1 /2 cup dried pasta
- 1 tsp Veg Stock powder
- 1/2 head Savoy cabbage finely chopped
- 1/2 cup green french beans diced
- 1 tsp parsley For garnish
- 1-2 tbsp hard cheese Optional
- 1 tsp salt Or extra as per taste
- 1/2 tsp black pepper As per taste
Instructions
- Add the olive oil in a large stock pot with the dried Italian herbs
- Next add in the bay leaf, garlic, chopped onions, carrots and celery. Add in a pinch of salt and sauté for about 5-7 min until the onions turn translucent.
- Boil the cup of water and add in the stock powder to make a cup of vegetable broth. (Try to use a good quality stock cube / stock powder with minimal salt). Then add the broth to the onion-celery-carrot mixture above
- Add in the tin of tomatoes , beans and dry pasta and remaining water. Season with salt and pepper as per taste. Let this simmer on low heat for 15 min.
- Add in the finely chopped veg of choice and simmer away for another 5-7 min until the veg is wilted. I used Savoy cabbage and green beans as that is what I had available. You can use any other vegetable on hand like bell peppers, zucchini or baby spinach.
- The soup will begin to look cooked once the pasta is al dente and the veg is a bit squishy but not overcooked.
- Ladle the soup in bowls. Garnish with chopped parsley and grate cheese of your choice. I used a hard mature cheddar cheese. You can use any good quality hard cheese like cheddar, parmesan or pecorino and it can be omitted for a vegan version.