Hearty beef minestrone

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp (15 mL) olive oil
• 1 cup (250 mL) chopped onion
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 lb/454 g extra-lean ground beef
• 2 Tbsp (30 mL) chopped fresh rosemary or thyme
• 1 Tbsp (15 mL) dried basil
• 2 cups (500 mL) chopped green cabbage
• 1 cup (250 mL) chopped carrots
• 1 cup (150 mL) chopped zucchini
• ¼ cup (60 mL) tomato paste
• 1 can (28 oz/796 mL) diced tomatoes, with their juices
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ tsp (2.5 mL) each salt and black pepper
• 6 cups (1.5 L) water
• 1 can (14 oz/398 mL) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (14 oz/398 mL) lentils, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup (250 mL) ditalini or other small pasta
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a large, deep pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and ground beef. Cook beef, breaking it up with your spoon, for about 8 minutes or until cooked through. Drain off fat.
2. Add herbs, cabbage, carrots and zucchini. Cook 5-6 minutes until softened. Add tomato paste, diced tomatoes, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Stir to combine until tomato paste is dissolved. Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour. Stir in beans, lentils and pasta and simmer 10-15 minutes until pasta is tender.
3. Ladle into warmed bowls and top with Parmesan if desired.

Tips:

• Big batch cooking: This recipe makes a lot of soup, but it freezes very well. If you don’t have a crowd to feed, let soup cool by transferring it to smaller containers and then once cool, freeze for up to 4 months. Thaw in refrigerator overnight before reheating to enjoy.
• Nutrition know-how: Cheese tends to be high in fat. Stronger cheese like Parmesan can provide a punch of flavour in smaller amounts. 1 Tbsp will give the flavour boost you are looking for without a lot of extra calories and fat.
• Make it vegetarian: If you don’t eat meat, substitute a soy-based ground meat replacement or an extra can of lentils or beans for the ground beef.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Canada’s 250 Essential Diabetes Recipes, Canadian Diabetes Association, Edited by Sharon Zeiler, BSC, MBA, RD, Robert Rose, 2011