Feel free to add your favorite vegetables to the soup, just use firm hearty vegetables that will stand up to the cooking and not fall apart (root vegetables work best).
HEALTHY & HEARTY VEGETABLE SOUP
Ingredients:
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 large garlic cloves, finely minced
1” piece of ginger, peeled & finely minced
3-4 small green Thai chilies, slit in half lengthwise (to taste)
1 tsp turmeric (haldi)
½ tsp ground cumin powder
½ tsp ground coriander powder
¼ tsp smoked Spanish paprika
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper, to taste
2 medium potatoes, peeled & diced
2 carrots, peeled & diced
2 parsnips, peeled & diced
1 cup corn kernels (frozen is fine)
1 can of diced tomatoes (12-14 oz size)
1 can of cooked garbanzo beans (10-12 oz size)
4 cups vegetable stock (add more if needed)
1 medium zucchini, diced
½ cup of angel hair pasta (capellini), broken into small pieces
2 tbsp oil (vegetable or canola)
good handful of finely chopped cilantro leaves, for garnish
METHOD:
In a medium size soup pot (or Dutch oven) on medium high heat, add the oil. When hot, sauté the onion until soft and translucent. Then add in the garlic along with the ginger and green chilies. Stir well and let cook for a few minutes, then add in the spices (turmeric, ground cumin powder, ground coriander powder, paprika, bay leaf, salt and pepper). Let the spices cook for a few minutes, then add the potatoes along with the carrots, parsnips and corn kernels. Stir well and let cook for 4-5 minutes before adding the diced tomatoes, garbanzo beans and vegetable stock. Bring the soup to a gentle boil, cover, reduce the heat to low and let cook for about 20 minutes. Stir well and then add in the zucchini and the pasta, let cook for another 8-10 minutes or until both the zucchini and pasta are done. Then adjust the seasoning if needed and garnish with the cilantro leaves. Serve hot with toasted naan wedges or slices of crusty bread.
