Swiss Chard and Chickpea Minestrone
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Ingredients
- 2tablespoons olive oil
- 1medium onion, chopped
- 2medium carrots, cut in small dice
- 1celery stalk, cut in small dice
- 1leek, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise, cleaned thoroughly and sliced thin
- Salt
- 4large garlic cloves, minced
- 7cups water
- 2tablespoons tomato paste
- A bouquet garni consisting of 1 Parmesan rind, 1 bay leaf, 3 sprigs parsley and 3 sprigs thyme, tied together with kitchen string or tied into a piece of cheesecloth
- 1(15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ½pound Swiss chard, stemmed, leaves washed and cut crosswise in thin strips (chiffonade) (4 cups, tightly packed, chiffonade)
- ½cup soup pasta, like elbow macaroni or broken spaghetti
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
- Freshly grated Parmesan
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
163 calories; 5 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 25 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 818 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring, until beginning to soften, about three minutes. Add ½ teaspoon salt and the leek. Continue to cook, stirring often, until tender, about three minutes. Add the garlic, stir for about a minute, and then stir in the water, tomato paste and the bouquet garni. Bring to a simmer. Add salt to taste, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Stir in the chickpeas. Taste and adjust salt. Remove the bouquet garni.
- Step 2
Add the Swiss chard and the pasta to the soup, bring back to a simmer, and simmer another 10 minutes or until the pasta is cooked al dente. Grind in some pepper, taste and adjust seasonings. It should be savory and rich-tasting. Serve in wide soup bowls, with a sprinkling of Parmesan over the top.
- Advance preparation: You can make this through Step 1 several days ahead and keep in the refrigerator or freeze. The closer to serving time you add the chard, the brighter it will be.
Private Notes
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Comments
This soup is delicious and wonderfully simple. There's a lot of room to play with it on future preparations.
For added flavor, cook the chickpeas yourself with some onion, garlic, and bay leaf and add the delicious bean broth in place of some of the water.
this is so incredibly delicious...and feels like you're eating health and vitamins with every mouthful! I used homemade chicken broth (made from an organic roast bird cooked earlier in the week), cavolo nero instead of swiss chard, and orzo instead of macaroni. Taste #5 Bomba tomato paste makes a difference, too- gave the minestrone a deeply savoury umami lift along with the parmesan at the end.
3 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, coarsely chopped. Cook with onions, carrots, and celery. 1 small can tomato sauce 2 large cans chicken soup broth to replace water. 1 russet potato, peeled and cubed. Add when add chickpeas.
This was so delicious and easy I did use vegetable broth instead of water to give it extra flavor!
This is one of the best recipes and is so simple. Other variations you can do with cannellini beans instead of chick peas and add sausage. I used chicken broth instead of water which made it more flavorful. Chard is like a weed that keeps on growing in my garden and my meat and potatoes husband loves it too!
Very healthy but not very flavorful. Not sure how to punch up the flavor.