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.