Italian Style Vegetable Soup

Last week I made Southwestern Style Vegetable Soup inspired by a can of light Progresso soup. This week it was an Italian Style Vegetable Soup also inspired by Progresso. This has to be my favorite. I used the same base of onions, carrots, celery and garlic in both soups, but the garlic really shines in this soup. It really adds a sweetness to the soup. It was great plain but I experimented with other garnishes. Of course Parmesan is great, but parsley and lemon zest is AMAZING! It adds a bright and fresh component to the soup. So so good! The only thing I might do different next time is use mini penne pasta. The regular size was a little big for a soup spoon.

Italian Style Vegetable Soup

Serves 12; generous 1 cup serving

Ingredients

1-1/2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 med. onion, chopped

2 carrots, diced

2 celery ribs, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste

1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste

2 Tbsp. flour

2 Tbsp. tomato paste

1 tsp Italian seasoning

8 cups vegetable stock

1 (15 oz) can petite diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup frozen green beans

1 cup frozen green peas

1 cup whole wheat penne pasta

2 cups baby spinach leaves

Optional garnishes:

Parsley, chopped

Lemon zest

Parmesan cheese

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots and celery, sauté until onion in translucent. Add garlic; continue to sauté about a minute. Add flour and stir to combine. After flour has cook a minute, add tomato paste. When tomato paste is fragrant, add Italian seasoning, stock, tomatoes and green beans; bring to a boil. Add green peas and penne, and return to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off heat add spinach. Serve with Parmesan or with parsley and lemon zest as a garnish.

Nutrition Facts

Amount Per Serving: Calories 79.2; Total Fat 2.0 g; Saturated Fat 0.3 g; Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2 g; Monounsaturated Fat 1.3 g; Cholesterol 0.0 mg; Sodium 857.3 mg; Potassium 239.1 mg; Total Carbohydrate 14.0 g; Dietary Fiber 2.5 g; Sugars 4.5 g; Protein 2.3 g; 2 WW PointsPlus.

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