Minestrone Soup

Minestrone soup is simply an Italian mixture of beans and veggies in a pot with the addition of pasta or rice. How can you go wrong with that!! Here's the recipe for the minestrone that I made this week.

1 onion, diced
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup frozen corn
1 potato, peeled and cubed
1 carrot, peeled and cubed
1/2 green bell pepper, cubed (also used yellow and orange)
1 tsp garlic paste
1/4 tsp dry rosemary
1/4 tsp dry thyme
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp red chili powder
Salt and black pepper to taste

1. Heat olive oil in pan. Add onions and sautee for few minutes. Also add garlic paste and sautee for 30 seconds before adding the carrots and potatoes. Also add about a cup and half of water and let boil while you finish chopping the rest of the veggies.
2. Add in the peppers and corn along with the salt, black pepper, cumin and red chili powders, and finally the dry rosemary and thyme.
3. Bring the soup to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Soup should take about 20 minutes before ready to serve. I probably added about another cup to cup and a half of water. You can eyeball it, though depending on the consistency you prefer.
4. Serve hot with a garnish of sour cream or cheese and a side of garlic toast.

The flavor of the soup was great. There are a few changes that I would make next time around. I would have added a tomato, maybe added garbanzo beans, replaced the potato with chopped celery (or keep the potato- can't make up my mind on that one) and a handful of pasta. I only remembered the pasta after the soup was made already. Next time I will try these changes and take a picture. Stay tuned ...