Minestrone Soup

Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven/soup pot.  Add onions and celery.  Cook, stirring often, for 5-7 minutes or until the onions are translucent.  Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper. (I think it is important to season as you go. Layering the flavors creates a nice amount of depth to your soup.)

Add sweet potatoes, and white beans, all of the herbs and seasonings,  vegetable broth and water. (I prefer to use mostly fresh herbs whenever possible. For convenience you are welcome to substitute with dry herbs 3:1 (fresh to dried).

Cover Minestrone Soup and bring to a boil. Depending on the thickness of your pan this may vary.  Once boiling uncover and reduce to a gentle simmer for 5-7 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper. 

Add zucchini, squash and broccolini. Continue to simmer until the sweet potatoes are soft but not mushy.  

At this point you would add your pasta AND if your soup is thinner than you would like feel free to add a little more vegetable broth. 

Do not forget to season your soup. Its a deal breaker with food in my opinion.   When I was in Culinary school we had an entire course about soups and seasoning them. As long as you are using high quality salt and adding a little as you go your flavors will stand out but not be “salty”.  

Lastly, my Favorite part of the entire cooking process. What I choose to garnish my soup with.  I didn’t make a point to add tomatoes into the cooking process because I wanted to add roasted tomatoes to the final product.  They are a perfect sweet and tangy addition. A touch more of the chili peppers to create a little heat in my personal bowl.  Finally, always always always include something green and crisp. For this soup, I chose something a little bit less traditional and grabbed a handful of @Hamama_Greens Fresh grown (In my apartment!!) fenugreek microgreens. Wild I know ;) but they add an extremely fresh almost citrus like pop to the soup that you will Not regret.