Kitchen Sink Minestrone

A cross between a minestrone and vegetable soup, this gathering of whatever ingredients I had on hand on a cold winter night totally hit the spot. It had been awhile since I whipped something like this up, and I craved the particular nourishment that a soup such as this provides. I love a tomato based vegetable soup. I really threw together what was available in the moment and added a bunch of spices to the initial sauté to flavor the base. Play around with the veggie and bean combos you have, it’s almost impossible to mess this up.
This version isn’t reinventing the wheel, but it’s bursting with fresh veggies, is fully vegetarian, and is hearty enough to be the center of a meal. Serving it over Cous Cous is a delicious option as well.

Ingredients:
A large onion finely chopped
3 finely chopped peeled garlic cloves
1 1/2 cups each chopped carrots and celery
A medium chopped green or yellow zucchini
1 1/2 cups chopped peppers of your choice, I used red and green
2 cups chopped fresh broccoli
Cup fresh or frozen peas
1 1/2 cups chopped kale
Cup chopped or thinly sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup packed chopped dill or parsley
2 different cans of beans of your choice, drained and rinsed
Large can crushed tomatoes
8 cups vegetable stock
Large bay leaf
Salt, pepper
1 Tsp each dried basil or Italian seasoning, smoked paprika, garlic powder
1/2 tsp turmeric

In a large pot heat up some olive oil (3 tbsp) and sauté the onion until fragrant and translucent. Add some stock to deglaze as needed. Add the garlic and sauté 2 minutes more, taking care it doesn’t burn by making sure there’s enough stock in the pot. Add the chopped carrots and celery and all the seasonings except the salt and pepper, again adding stock as needed (at this point I add about a cup). Cover the pot for 5 minutes to sweat the vegetables and lock in the flavor.
Add the chopped peppers, mushrooms, peas, and broccoli with another cup of stock and cook uncovered, stirring to cook for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the stock, crushed tomatoes, zucchini, kale, fresh herbs, bay leaf, 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, and the beans. Stir well to combine and bring to a boil, covered, over medium heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook covered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender. Adjust seasonings to taste. This makes a big pot that definitely serves a crowd.


**Other vegetables that would be nice to add depending on what you have: cauliflower, parsnips, cubed butternut squash or sweet potatoes, shredded green cabbage.
A can of chickpeas is a good sub for one of the varieties of beans.