Minestrone Soup

A long overdue post. What can I say? It's been a real, hectic month since the start of the fasting month earlier. Before anything else, Selamat Hari Raya/Eid Mubarak to all of you. I was out and about, shopping, travelling, and visiting relatives that I've missed out on food blogging. What a shame! Hoping to be more active!!

I love soups, and Minestrone is one of them - lots of flavour in it, the colourful mix of vegetables are just healthy, delicious, flavourful. Purely goodness! For years I've been searching on how to make this soup, it's not until recently I started to finally buy the ingredients and successfully made it to the kitchen :-)

Not as difficult as I thought it would be. The best part is, I can keep the soup in small portions in the freezer, and eat it any time I want later on, so this way, I cook extra, and makes my working life more manageable.

I used a variety of veges, those available in the local market. I believe most veges, and the more you add can make a much tastier minestrone soup :-)

:: Minestrone Soup ::
1 can peeled tomatoes
1 fresh red tomato
1/2 can chickpeas
1 medium zucchini
1 carrot
1 stick celery
1 large onion
1 clove garlic
1 cup water
1 cup beef or chicken stock (I used some beef to make my own stock)
1/2 cup macaroni pasta
1 teaspoon Italian herbs
2 bay leave (optional)
salt & pepper to taste

Chop the vegetables (medium-fine) and place aside. Bring to boil the water and add peeled tomatoes, garlic and onion. Add in beef stock and then add all the chopped vegetables and herbs in. Cook over medium-low heat for about 30mins to an hour, until soup thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste. Then, add the macaroni and turn the heat off when pasta is cooked. I like the soup thick, to really get the chunky vegetables in my mouth. Add some more water if you like a more watery texture.

Garnish with some grated parmesan cheese... and serve warm. Great as an appetiser, for a light dinner, and especially on cold days!

I would have added a little cabbage and spinach, that would make it more tasty... but anyways, the soup tasted really good and healthy. I'd make it more often from now on, as it can be frozen for weeks and yet still taste good after reheating it. And if you prefer it without beef/chicken stock, good enough, it still is Minestrone. :-)