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Chunky Vegetable Minestrone Soup

This soup recipe is from Cooking Light magazine a few years ago. It is my favorite Minestrone soup, because it tastes so fresh with all the veggies and fresh herbs in it. You can substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth to keep it 100% vegetarian.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion diced
3 cloves garlic minced
2 carrots sliced
1 pound mushrooms sliced
1/2 pound fresh green beans trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium zucchini sliced
2 short celery stalks with leaves
10 peppercorns
8 cups chicken broth preferably homemade
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes undrained
1 tablespoon fresh thyme chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
1 tablespoon fresh oregano chopped
1/2 cup elbow macaroni or any small pasta
1 cup yukon Gold potato skinned and sliced 1/4" thick
1/2 cup parmesan cheese freshly grated

Yields 8 servings

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often until the onion is translucent and has a little bit of color on it, about 15 minutes. Add the carrots, mushrooms, green beans and zucchini and cook about 5 minutes longer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute longer, being careful not to brown the garlic.

Add the chicken broth, canned tomatoes, celery leaves, peppercorns, and potatoes. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 30 minutes, covered.

Bring the soup back to a low boil and add the pasta, stirring occasionally until the pasta is al dente. Stir in the fresh herbs and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately, topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 175 Calories; 7g Fat (34.6% calories from fat); 11g Protein; 19g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 4mg Cholesterol; 877mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 2 Vegetable; 1 Fat.