Description
The combination of collard greens, sweet potatoes, and fennel yields a hearty and filling winter minestrone soup. The delicious broth is flavored with fire roasted tomatoes, rosemary, garlic, red pepper, and bay leaves. Cannellini beans add a bit of protein while pasta lends a nice carb-y element to this vegan and gluten free soup.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow or white onion, diced
- 2 medium/large carrots, diced
- 2 stalks of celery, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp minced fresh rosemary
- 1 fennel bulb, core removed & discarded then diced
- 1 medium sweet potato, diced
- 28 ounces canned fire roasted tomatoes (if you can’t find the larger size can, feel free to use 2 of the smaller ones!)
- 1 quart of vegetable broth
- 2 cups water
- 2 bay leaves
- 2–3 pinches of red pepper flakes
- sea salt to taste
- 1 cup uncooked gluten free pasta (a smaller pasta is best, like a macaroni or a shell)
- 1 can of cooked cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 bunch of collard greens, roughly chopped
- 1–2 lemons for serving
- bread for serving (optional)
Instructions
Before you start your soup, make sure you have all of your veggies chopped and the remaining ingredients ready. Start by heating a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the olive oil. Once the oil has come to temperature, add the diced onion, carrot, and celery. Allow these to cook, stirring frequently for about 7-8 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and rosemary and allow the mixture to cook for 2 minutes more.
Next, add the diced fennel, sweet potato, the fire roasted tomatoes and all of their juices, the broth, the water, the bay leaves, the red pepper flakes, and a large pinch or two of salt. I used about a teaspoon of salt here. Stir everything together, then turn the heat up to medium-high. Bring the soup to a simmer, cover the pot partially with a lid, then allow it to simmer for about 10 minutes. If the soup starts to boil, turn the heat back down to medium.
After 10 minutes, remove the lid and add the uncooked pasta, the beans, and the collards. Simmer the soup uncovered until the pasta is cooked (this will take between 15-20 minutes depending on the type of pasta you used). Once the pasta is cooked, your minestrone is done! Taste it and add more salt as needed.
Serve your minestrone with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and your favorite bread on the side.
Notes
- If you don’t need to eat gluten free, feel free to substitute the same amount of regular uncooked pasta.
- You can substitute an equal amount of any chopped veggies you like for the sweet potatoes and fennel. And, you can use any leafy greens you like in place of the collards.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40-45 minutes
- Category: soup