Minestrone Soup

I've been trying to explore vegetarian dishes lately. I came a upon the minestrone soup, we always ate the Habitant brand when I was a kid so I decided to revisit that childhood classic. After searching the web and finding a multitude of recipes, I came up with a sort of winter version of it. It was a low maintenance complete meal soup that you can leave and come back to. It's also packed with nutrients! What's not to love?

Ingredients
Canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
1/2-1 tbsp (7-15 mL) ground black pepper
2 tbsp dried parsley
1 pinch of salt, optional*
1 can (540 mL) cannellini beans, unsalted, rinsed and drained
1 can (800 mL) diced tomatoes, unsalted
1 tbsp (15 mL) tomato paste, unsalted
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
4 cups (1000 mL) chicken broth
1 cup (240 mL) kale, shredded
1/2 cup (120 mL) baby shells or macaroni elbow pasta
Fresh Parmesan, grated, as garnish

Method
1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, garlic, celery and carrots, season with black pepper, parsley and a pinch of salt. Cook until onions are almost translucent; since there are a lot of vegetables, it can take up to 10-12 minutes.
2. Stir in beans, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, sweet potatoes and broth. Bring to a boil, then cover and let simmer on lower heat until vegetables are almost tender - about 45 to 60 minutes depending on the size of your diced vegetables. Add broth or water at any time if the liquid goes below the solids and it starts to look more like a stew than a soup.
3. Stir in kale and pasta. Let simmer for another 20-30 minutes or until your pasta is ready.
4. Serve hot with grated fresh Parmesan as garnish. Enjoy!

Serves 8.

*Suggested if you use unsalted canned beans and tomatoes.

Vegetarian Omelette with a Sweet Potato Crust

This is what happens when your vegetarian friend comes over for supper and Pinterest collide : a delicious omelette! This recipe is vegetarian and does not need the meat to satisfy your hunger or your taste buds, but bacon lovers could easily add in bacon pieces while the onions and mushrooms cook at the beginning. Lastly, I used the ingredients I had at home but they can easily be altered like a shredded carrot, asparagus and strong cheddar omelette with a potato crust, and dill as the main herb.

Ingredients
1 sweet potato, peeled
Black pepper

olive oil
6-8 mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, diced
1-2 tsp (5-10 mL) smoked paprika
1/2-1 tsp (2-5 mL) oregano

Black pepper

1 pinch of salt

3 tbsp (45 mL) vegetable broth or white wine

10 eggs

1/2 cup (120 mL) milk

Black pepper

1 cup (240 mL) spinach, chopped

100g/3/4 cup, shredded mozzarella

Fresh Parmesan, optional

Method

1. Preheat oven at 375 F.

2. Grease 9"x9" ovenproof dish.

3. Thinly slice sweet potato in medallions. Place medallions in ovenproof dish, cover the bottom and the sides with the sweet potato - it's okay if there are holes between the slices and it's okay if you decide to double the crust on the bottom. Season with black pepper. Place in oven on middle rack while you prepare the rest of the omelette - don't worry if the oven is not fully preheated yet.

4. In a skillet on medium heat, cook onions and mushrooms in a little oil. Season as it cooks with paprika, oregano, black pepper and a pinch of salt. When the onions are almost translucent, use the broth or wine to deglaze the skillet and let onions become translucent before you take it off the heat.

5. During that time, in a medium bowl, beat eggs and milk. Season with black pepper or any other spice you like.

6. Take the sweet potato crust out of the oven, it will not be fully cooked and some slices might have curved a bit but that doesn't matter. Carefully pour the egg mixture on the sweet potatoes. Add the mushrooms and onions, ensure they are well distributed throughout the omelette. Spread the spinach on top - they will sink a little or you can push them down slightly with a fork. Sprinkle the shredded cheese and Parmesan on top. Place in hot oven for 40-50 minutes, or once the middle no longer wiggles when you shake it slightly.

7. Once cooked, take out the omelette, let cool for 5 minutes and serve. I would suggest serving it with roasted sweet potatoes and root vegetables that you seasoned and cooked at the same time as the omelette. Enjoy!

Serves 4-6.

Pasta with a Mushroom, Shrimp and Red Wine Sauce

I was hungry for pasta but had only shrimps and mushrooms at home, and did not want to face the cold to go buy more food. This recipe is what I came up with after I opened a bottle of red wine and surfed the net. It was delicious and more simple than I thought to cook. It can also easily be modified depending on what you had at home; might I suggest a shrimps, leeks and white wine sauce. My final recommendation is that when you choose wine for cooking, don't choose a wine you wouldn't drink or it will ruin your dish.

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 container (227g) mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, minced
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) black pepper
1-2 pinch of ground chili peppers
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of granulated sugar
1/3 cup (80 mL) red wine
1/2 cup (120 mL) chicken broth
10-12 medium shrimps, raw, peeled
1/4-1/2 cup (60-120 mL) milk or cream
Enough pasta for 2 people

Method
1. In a medium to large skillet, heat oil on medium heat. Add the mushrooms, onion, garlic as well as all the spices. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until onions are translucent.
2. Add the sugar and mix.
3. Add the wine. Raise the heat and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce wine for 4-6 minutes.
4. Once the wine has reduced by half, add the chicken broth. Let reduce for 5 minutes.
5. While the liquid reduces, in a medium pot, boil water for the pasta. Once boiling, add enough pasta for two and follow the cooking instructions on the box. Drain and keep warm until the sauce is ready.
6. Back to our sauce, reduce the heat to medium and place the shrimps on the sauce. As one side of the shrimp is cooked, flip them.
7. Once the shrimps are cooked, remove from heat, and add the milk (or cream) and the drained pasta. Mix well.
8. Plate and enjoy! I garnished mine with grated parmesan.

Serves 2.