Vegan minestrone

I really don’t like soups with “chunks”. I love all creamy ones. But there’s always an exception. In my case, minestrone breaks this “chunky” rule . It’s full of floating pieces of veggies, but is so delicious and those textures don’t bother me at all.
I like the aroma- beautiful, rich and intense. It’s all over the house when I’m cooking minestrone. Another thing is the colour- bright, lively… and all those different veggies. Every one of them looks different. You can actually see how this soup is healthy and nutritive. When you taste minestrone it’s all come together and it’s amazing! It’s like walking through the garden or food market on a sunny day.

But what exactly is this minestrone?
Thick, nutritive soup made of different vegetables, often served with pasta or rice. It has the roots in Italy and the mysterious name in this language means simply a “soup” (“minestra).You can’t find one the best recipe for the mienstrone. The basis of good minestrone is good, rich broth and plenty of seasonal vegetables. Slowly braised to get as much aroma as you can. Lightly seasoned with salt and pepper. The important ingredients are beans. In some region pesto and fresh herbs are also added. And on Malta is served in thicker version.

Ingredients:
6 servings

4-6 tbsp olive oil
1 large leek (white part)
1 large onion (100-120g)
1 fennel bulb (około 400g)
2 small zucchinis (400g)
2 potatoes (około 250g)
1 red pepper
300g savoy cabbage (6 large leaves)
2-4 celery ribs
1/2 can chickpeas
1500 ml vegetable stock
salt
pepper

1. Prepare the vegetables. Chop onion finely. Cut the leek lenghtways and than in half-moons. Cut the stems and the core from fennel bulb and cut into small dice. Cut zucchini in small dice, as well as peeled potates, pepper and celery. Chop the cabbage.

2. In the large pot heat the olive oil. Add the vegetables in the specific order (see below) and throw next when the previous is soft. Be careful not to burn. You can add a bit of broth if needed.
The order of adding veggies: Onion and leeks (12 minutes of cooking), fennel, celery, potaotes, zucchini, pepper, cabbage.

3. When the cabbage get soft add the stock. Cover the pot and bring to a boil and cook on the low heat for about 25 minutes. Add chickpeas.Season with salt and pepper. Served with sprouts or seasoned with nutritional yeast.

Nutrition info:

Whole:
1600 caloreis
protein: 47g; fat: 76g; carbohydrates: 157g; dietary fiber: 33,2g
iron: 16,3 mg; calcium: 647 mg; zinc 5,8 mg

1 serving:
267 calories
protein: 7,8g; fat: 12,6g; carbohydrates: 26g; fiber: 5,5g
iron: 2,7 mg; calcium: 108 mg; zinc: 0,96 mg