No Recipe Needed Minestrone: Make it Your Own (Vegan)

Friday, February 1, 2019

Easy minestrone stars pantry staples like canned tomatoes and beans. Add some aromatics and veggies of your choosing and you’ve got the perfect (vegan) soup for winter.

I’ve written about minestrone before—you can watch a video here if you like—but it’s been a while and I was newly inspired to post again about this super easy and crazy delicious soup.

Which, I might added, we’ve eaten pretty much nonstop since making up a big batch about two weeks ago.

Oh, and yes, I do provide a recipe but that’s in case you don’t feel comfortable playing. But, really, this is the perfect soup to try out your skills, wing it with whatever you fancy. Trust me, it’ll be just fine.

Minestrone Soup (Vegan)

Ingredients, roughly

1/4 cup grapeseed oil (or any vegetable oil)

2 medium onions, chopped

3 ribs celery, chopped

3 large carrots, chopped

1 large bunch of broccoli rabe (or kale, or spinach, or whatever)

8 cloves garlic, crushed

Season liberally with salt and freshly ground pepper

~2 tablespoons dried oregano

~1 tablespoon dried basil

~2 teaspoons dried rosemary

~1 teaspoond dried mustard

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste

6-8 cups vegetable stock

2 28-ounch cans crushed tomatoes

1 jar roasted red peppers, chopped

2 16-ounce cans navy beans with liquid (or whatever beans you like)

1/2 cup chopped Kalamata olives (optional)

1 teaspoon Worceshire sauce

1 teaspoon tamari (low-sodium soy sauce)

1/2 cup fresh parsley, rough chop

Whole grain macaroni (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oil to medium high in a large soup pot to shimmering, then toss in the chopped vegeables. After a few minutes, stir in the seasonings and decrease heat to medium. Continue to stir until vegetables are cooked, but not mushy, about 7 minutes.

2. Deglaze the pan with a splash or two of wine or beer if desired, or simply use some of the stock. Add the remaining 6 cups of stock, then stir in crushed tomatoes, peppers, olives, Worceshire sauce, and tamari. Heat to high until soup comes to a boil, then lower heat to simmer. Let soup come together for about 10 minutes and taste. No doubt you’ll need to adjust all spices, including the Italian seasonings and salt. Add more stock for a thinner soup.

3. While the soup is coming together, prepare pasta according to directions, drain, coat with a bit of oil to keep from sticking, and set aside. Scoop pasta into individual bowls of soup when ready to eat; pasta added directly to soup will continue absorbing water and get soggy as the soup resides in the fridge.

NOTE. I can’t say enough that the list of ingredients and quantities are all approcximate! Whatever veggies, beans, and paste you include are totally up to you. The key, simply, is to taste, taste, taste…and when you find it delicious, you’re done!

Enjoy!

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Learn more about nutrition scientist and food personality Dr. P.K. Newby, and check out her newest book. You can also follow her on FB, where she is much more active than on this blog. Or, click here if you just want to ogle food porn featuring plant-based, globally-inspired cuisine.

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Dr. P.K. Newby is a nutrition scientist, speaker, and author with expertise in all things food, farm to fork, whether preventing obesity and other chronic diseases through diet or teaching planet-conscious eating. As a health expert and food personality, she brings together her passions for food, cooking, science, and sustainability to educate and inspire, helping people eat their way towards better health, one delectable bite at a time. Healthy Hedonism (TM) is her philosophy: Because healthy food shouldn’t suck.