108. minestrone soup

wholesome meal
There’s nothing more comforting on a cold day like a bowl of some hearty wholesome soup. I love minestrone soup as it has everything in it, vegetables, pasta, beans, and cheese if you like. I usually use whatever vegetables are available in the market. Usually minestrone soup has celery, zucchini, carrot, beans, onion,tomato, basil, other herbs, pasta and some cheese. I like to use whatever is available in the market.Rainy season is a blessing as veggies are fresh and succulent. Add vegetables of your preference, this recipe is basically just a guideline. Wholesome soups make an excellent meal and I love to have it for dinner. Its a good way to get kids to have vegetables. Use fresh tomato puree and tomatoes. Tinned tomatoes tend to have citric acid which makes the soup too tangy. I prefer to chop the vegetables into slightly larger chunks, but you can dice them smaller if you prefer. Don’t over cook the vegetables. Getting a bit of bite with every spoonful makes the soup more palatable.
updated : 15/01/2016
MINESTRONE SOUP
4 to 6 servings depending whether you have it as a meal or as a starter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
½ cup chopped onion white or red
2-3 chopped garlic
1 cup diced zucchini
½ cup diced carrots
½ cup quartered mushrooms
½ cup cooked or tinned white or red beans
½ cup cauliflower florets
½ cup chopped celery stalk with a bit of leaves too
1 tbsp fresh chopped basil or 1 tsp dry basil
1 tsp dry oregano or 1 tbsp fresh oregano
4 tomatoes diced
1 cup tomato puree
4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
½ cup pasta
2 cups stock or water
1 to 1½ tsp salt
1 tsp coarse pepper powder
4 to 6 tbsps grated cheese of your choice ( I use either cheddar or parmesan)
- Heat oil and butter together in a deep pan.
- Saute onion and garlic for a minute or so.
- Add zucchini, carrots, celery, basil and oregano.
- Stir the vegetables. Cover the pan and let the vegetables sweat for 2 to 3 minutes over low heat.
- Add the diced tomatoes, beans, cauliflower and mushrooms. Cook for 2 minutes or so.
- Add tomato puree and stock or water. Add salt.
- When the soup begins to simmer, add the pasta. Mix.
- Let the soup simmer over low flame till the pasta gets done.
- Garnish with grated cheese and pepper and serve.
- Can cut the vegetables into chunks if you like.
- I added macaroni. Add any pasta of your choice. Try with bow pasta.
- Adjust the amount of salt required according to your taste. Be careful if you are using ready made stock. They can be salty sometimes.
- If you like add bell pepper.
- I love added fresh red beans which are readily available in Mombasa.
- You can omit cheese if you want.
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7 Comments
Jacqueline Meldrum
January 16, 2016 at 11:25 am
I do love a bowl of a really nice minestrone soup. It's a popular soup here in Scotland.
Linsy Patel
January 16, 2016 at 2:19 pm
hope you had a nice trip to back home and soup looks really yummy.
beena stephen
January 17, 2016 at 9:59 am
Delicious healthy soup. Perfect for this season.
Mayuri Patel
January 17, 2016 at 8:50 pm
Thank you Jacqueline, I love the soup because its loaded with veggies.
Mayuri Patel
January 17, 2016 at 8:51 pm
Thanks Linsy, trip back home was just too tiring as our flight got delayed and we didn't get our baggage. But its nice to back to routine and a wholesome soup makes one feel right at home.
Mayuri Patel
January 17, 2016 at 8:51 pm
Thanks Beena, yes its perfect for a cold season. Its hot here, but I am trying to add more soups to our diet whether its hot or cold.
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche
January 18, 2016 at 10:07 am
This sounds lovely, so hearty and comforting but healthy too. Perfect for the cold weather!