Hippy Chick Minestrone

7 steps

• In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery and cook, until beginning to soften, about 4 minutes.
• Wash and thinly slice leek. Add to pot, and cook until tender, about 4 minutes. Mince garlic, add to pot, and cook for 1 minute.
• Add tomato paste, diced tomatoes, vegetable broth, water, dried parsley, black pepper, bay leaves, thyme, and crushed red pepper flakes to the pot. Mix to combine.
• Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
• While soup is cooking, wash and prepare the Swiss chard (removing stems, and chopping leaves into coarse pieces) and set aside.
• After soup has simmered, add Swiss chard, dry elbow macaroni, and chickpeas. Simmer for another 10 minutes or until the pasta is cooked al dente.
• Divide evenly between 6 soup bowls. Top each bowl with 1 teaspoon of parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Tip:
For a lower-sodium soup, rinse canned beans well before adding to the soup or use no-salt-added beans.