COUNTRY VEGETABLE SOUP

For this week's soup, I decided to make a vegetable soup with chickpeas to provide some protein. The freezer has some frozen garden vegetables which need to be used before summer arrives. It is time to use the zucchini and green beans. I shred zucchini during the summer and freeze it in quantities of two cups. I also froze several bags of green beans in half cup quantities. I used fresh tomatoes in this recipe but you can use frozen or canned tomatoes. I added frozen parsley as I froze chopped parsley last fall to use in cooking during the course of the winter. I did add another cup of water while the soup was cooking as it was getting too thick. You can add other vegetables to the soup pot as a country soup is really about using what you have available.

The soup is a flavourful vegetable soup and will be great for lunches.

INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 of a medium size cabbage, finely chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
5 mushrooms, chopped
4 tomatoes, skinned
2 cups zucchini, shredded
1/2 cup green beans (optional)
1 can (540 ml) chickpeas, drained
1 tsp Italian seasoning
6 to 7 cups of chicken/veg/beef broth or water
handful of parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Add the oil to a large soup pot and heat to medium high. Once hot, add the onion, garlic and cabbage, reduce the heat to medium and sauté for a few minutes. Stir as you don't want to burn the onions or garlic. Add the carrots, celery and mushrooms and continue to sauté for another few minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients. Cover the pot with a lid and bring the soup to a boil and then reduce the heat to simmer. If the soup is getting too thick while simmering, add some more water. Simmer for 45 to 60 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Taste to see if more herbs or spices are needed and serve. Serves 8.