Winning recipe: Hearty minestrone soup

This soup is very easy to make and eats like a meal. It's the perfect dinner for a cool fall or winter day. And it's a deliciously satisfying way to get your veggies for the day.

Hearty minestrone soup

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion
• 3 carrots
• 3-4 stalks celery
• 1 sweet potato
• 1-28oz can diced tomatoes
• 3 tbsp basil pesto
• 2 zucchini, chopped 
• 1 can white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• Parmesan cheese rind (optional)
• Salt

Directions:

1. Heat 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil in a big soup pot. Dice the onion and add to the oil.
2. While the onions soften and brown, dice the carrots into small pieces and add to the onions. Stir.
3. Add a bit more oil if it looks or smells like it's starting to burn.
4. Dice the celery into the same size bits as the carrots, and add to the pot. You may want to add a pinch of salt to encourage the veggies to give up their water and cook well.
5. Peel and cut up the sweet potato into bite sized chunks (bigger than the other stuff) and add. Add tomatoes, with the juice. Let that heat up a bit, and then fill the can with water and add that.
6. Add the pesto and chopped green zucchini.
7. You can gauge how much liquid is in there and you might want to add another can of water. You can kind of balance this and if you add too much, just simmer the soup a long time and reduce the water.
8. If using the Parmesan rind, add now and take out before serving.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Recipe courtesy of Laurie Legere.