Sunday, October 30, 2011

Italian Vegetable Soup

Here is a recipe I had been dying to try for weeks. It turned out so good!! I will post the recipe in its original form, but I made several changes/substitutions and will note those. Hope you enjoy it!


  • Another note-I made the soup ahead of time and it sat for a while before we ate it. The noodles REALLY soaked up alot of the liquid in the meantime. I had to add an entire box of chicken broth to make it soupy again (double batch, remember). I will definitely use half the noodles called for next time. Also, I did not care for the flavor the parmesan gave after sprinkled on top, so I will forego that myself next time.


    My changes/substitutions:

    -Any brand of ingredients will do.
    -I doubled the recipe, it made a TON of soup.
    -I added two garlic cloves, minced (one for single batch).
    -I used slightly less onion.
    -The store I went to didn't have italian style stewed tomatoes, so I used regular stewed and added some ground italian seasoning. I also used diced tomatoes w/basil, garlic and oregano. (So for double recipe I used two cans regular stewed and 2 cans diced w/ basil, garlic and oregano.)
    -I used half veg. broth and half chicken broth.
    -Store didn't have canellini beans, so I used Great Northern.
    -Didn't have my basil EVOO, so used regular and it tasted fine. I also didn't use the parmesan on my serving.

    Ingredients:

    6 ounces COLAVITA Fusilli Pasta
    2 tablespoons COLAVITA Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    1 cup green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
    1 cup chopped onion
    1 red bell pepper, diced
    2 (14.5 - ounce) cans Italian style stewed tomatoes, chopped or lightly
    blended
    2 cups vegetable broth
    1 cup water
    2 medium zucchini, sliced in half lengthwise and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
    4 cups coarsely chopped fresh spinach
    6 fresh basil leaves, chopped or torn
    1 (16 - ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
    Salt and freshly ground pepper
    Pinch red pepper flakes, optional
    2 tablespoons COLAVITA Basilolio, or more to taste
    2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste

    Preparation:

    1. In a large pot of
    salted water, cook the fusilli for 6 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold  water to stop the cooking process. Set aside.


    2. In a large pot, heat the oil over low heat, add the green beans,
    onion and bell pepper, sprinkle with salt; cover and allow them to sweat for 10 minutes, do not brown.

    Add the stewed tomatoes, vegetable broth and water;
    bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.

    Add the zucchini, spinach and basil; simmer another 10 minutes.

    Add the cannellini beans, pasta and red pepper flakes (if using) along with some additional broth or water if the soup seems too thick; simmer 5 minutes more. Taste and adjust seasoning.

    Ladle into warmed bowls, drizzle with Basilolio and a good sprinkle of
    Parmesan cheese. Pass additional cheese if desired.

    Serves 6 - 8
    Per Serving: 278 Calories (28.1% from fat); 9g Fat (1g Sat, 5g Mono, 1g
    Poly); 9g Protein; 42g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; 2mg Cholesterol; 725mg
    Sodium. Food Exchanges: 2 Grain (Starch); 2 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Fat.