White Bean and Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

2 15-oz cans cannellini or white kidney beans (or 1/2 lb dried beans, soaked overnight in water), drained
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 head of green cabbage, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
2 celery stalks, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/2 carrots, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
5 cups (or more) vegetable stock or canned vegetable broth
1 medium potato, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 head of red cabbage, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 zucchini or summer squash, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Tabasco sauce (optional)

Method

1 Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, thyme, and garlic. Sauté 5 minutes. Add green cabbage, tomatoes, celery, and carrots. Sauté 10 minutes.

2 Add beans, 5 cups of stock, potatoes, and basil. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for one hour.

3 Add red cabbage and zucchini. Add salt. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes longer. Stir in cheese. Sprinkle in a a dash of Tabasco hot sauce if you want to give the soup a little zip.

Serve with ground pepper and bread. Serves 4-6.