During the summer season, I get a plethora of delicious veggies from my Community Supported Agriculture, so I try to use them in everything I can.
This month I’ve been getting a ton of summer squash and zucchini.
So, I sauteed them into my minestrone soup and put it to the toughest taste test I know.
I gave a bowl of the soup to my 18-year old nephew and watched his reaction.
He took a couple of slurps and then said, “How did you make this soup? It’s delicious!”
I told him what my recipe was and he seemed satisfied with the ingredients I used.
He sat there quietly slurping away. And, then… he got up and filled a second bowl.
That’s the true test.
He went in for seconds!
In my kitchen, I used freshly cooked beans. I know that can take a long time. More time than most folks want to spend in the kitchen.
So, to make this recipe quick and easy for you, I subbed in canned beans.
I hope you enjoy this summer minestrone as much as we do.
- 1 tbsp. butter
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 5-6 scallions, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 2 medium yellow summer squash or zucchini, diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 4 cups chicken stock (or veggie stock)
- 14 oz can diced tomatoes
- 14 oz can chickpeas, rinsed
- 14 oz can kidney beans, rinsed
- 1 tbsp. dried basil
- 2 tsp. dried oregano
- 2-3 leaves Swiss Chard, chopped
- ½ cup elbow macaroni
- 1 & ½ tsp. sea salt
- ½ tsp. black pepper
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- Heat butter and olive oil in a soup pot on medium/high heat.
- Add scallions and garlic to the pot with a pinch of salt.
- Cook 1 minute.
- Add squash and celery, and another pinch of salt.
- Saute 5 minutes or until all vegetables are sweating.
- Add stock, tomatoes, chickpeas, kidney beans, basil, oregano plus 1 tsp. sea salt, and black pepper.
- Cover and bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes.
- Add Swiss Chard and macaroni.
- Cover and continue cooking 7-10 minutes.
- Taste and adjust seasoning, if needed.
- Ladle into individual bowls and top with 1-2 tbsp. grated parmesan
Andrea Beaman is an internationally renowned Holistic Health Coach, Natural Foods Chef, Speaker, Herbalist and best-selling author. Named one of the top 100 Most Influential Health and Fitness Experts, she is also a recipient of the Natural Gourmet Institute’s Award for Excellence in Health-Supportive Education and a Health Leadership award from The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Since 1999, Andrea has been teaching people how to harness the body’s own preventative and healing powers using food, herbal remedies and alternative medicine.
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