Minestrone Soup

A vibrant Italian vegetable soup that you can spice up with some pesto and cube the vegetables uniformly into ½-inch pieces — by Rita Steininger.

Serves 4 to 6

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound green beans, stemmed and sliced into ½-inch pieces
• 4 carrots, peeled and cubed
• 4 medium-sized Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 3 leeks, white part only, cleaned and cubed
• 1 tomato, cubed (optional)
• 1 red onion, peeled and cubed
• 12 parsley leaves, chopped 
• 3 quarts vegetable broth
• Two 15.5 cans cannellini beans, drained
• 1 pound small elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Grated Parmesan cheese to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, and sauté the green beans, carrots, Yukon Gold potatoes, leeks and onion until slightly tender. 

Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, heat the vegetable broth. Once it is hot, pour it over the sautéed vegetables. Add the parsley and cannellini beans and cook about 30  minutes more. Stir in the macaroni, and season with salt and pepper. Squeeze some lemon juice into each bowl before adding the soup. Serve the soup in bowls and sprinkle Parmesan cheese over top.

SEE ALSO: Cheese Dumplings in Vegetable Soup | Southern Fish Soup