Tuscan Vegetable Soup
Also known as Italian Frying peppers. Cubanelle peppers are large and blocky. They are light green in appearance and they mature red. The thin walls of this pepper make it an excellent choice for frying. This pepper is not hot.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
1 medium onion, diced
2-3 carrots, peeled and diced
2-3 stalks of celery, peeled if tough, and diced
1 small zucchini, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 cubanelle pepper, seeded and sliced
6-8 sprigs of thyme, minced if you prefer, or left intact, if you’re lazy like me
1 bunch of red chard, stems diced and leaves roughly chopped
32 ounces (or 4 cups) of low-sodium chicken broth, or homemade broth
1 (14.5 oz) can of no-salt diced tomatoes and its juice
1 (15 oz) can of canellini beans, or other white beans), rinsed and drained
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp of salt + 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated, for serving (optional)
Method
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic, and thyme, and cook 5-8 minutes until the onion is translucent. Be careful not to burn the garlic!
Add the carrots, celery, zucchini, cubanelle pepper, chard stems, salt, and pepper to the pot, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Finally, add the broth, tomatoes, chard leaves, and beans to the soup, and bring to a boil. Simmer the soup until the flavors have melded together and the chard leaves are cooked, about 10 more minutes.
Scoop into bowls and serve with grated Parmesan cheese and perhaps a lovely piece of crusty, toasty bread.
Slightly adapted from a recipe from mywonbowl.com