As the fall nights gradually get colder, my stomach starts grumbling for something warm and comforting. Something like a good minestrone soup.

Now, there are a lot of recipes out there that might fit the bill of warming and comforting, but this one is all that and more. Minestrone has the advantage of being (1) easy to make, (2) healthy, and (3) in this version anyway, vegan.

Ready to get cooking? Here’s what you’ll need to make four big servings:

• 1 onion
• 1 large carrot
• 1 leek
• 1 potato
• 1 small bunch of kale
• 1 can of chopped tomatoes
• 1 can cannellini beans
• 1/2 a package of gluten free shell pasta or macaroni
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp rosemary
• 2 cloves garlic
• salt and pepper to taste

To make this awesome minestrone, start by dicing the onion and mincing up the garlic. Then put the oil in the bottom of a soup pot, and turn on the heat. Throw the onion, garlic, and rosemary in and fry for a minute or two until fragrant.

Dice the potato and carrot and slice the white part of the leek finely. Then add to the garlic and onion in the pot and saute briefly. You don’t need to wait for the veggies to cook completely since we’re going to boil them too, but just sizzle them in the bottom of the pot to let them absorb some of the flavors of the garlic and rosemary.

After three minutes or so, add the can of tomatoes and the can of beans into the pot. Rip up the kale roughly and toss it in as well. Add the dry pasta and then fill the pot with enough water so that everything is submerged and there’s about an inch of water on top.

Then bring it all to a low boil and give it at least an hour to cook.

Now all that’s left is to serve up your delicious hearty soup. The beans and the pasta give the meal a complete protein, and the garlic, leek and kale give it a healthy boost.

Enjoy!

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Editor: Catherine Monkman

Photo: Wikimedia Commons