Vegan Minestrone - The Big Soup

The host Harini of Tongueticklers decided on Soups for this month's Monthly Mingle, started by Meeta. I must say a perfect theme for the cold of December. Right from my growing years, I have been a big fan of different types of soups. And still I cannot imagine even a week without one or two bowls of soup.
Soups can be as simple as possible. Yet they can be as complex as you want them to be, by mixing more or less ingredients. But they have a thing common and that is the great comforting factor along with oodles of warmth.  Packed with goodness and great flavour, Minestrone is one such soup from Italy. Best eaten in fall or winter months, minestrone makes a perfect light and healthy meal for lunch or dinner. Although there is a huge variety of minestrone recipes as many are the minestrone cooks. But almost all minestrone recipes have three basic vegetables to start with - onion, carrot and celery. One important feature of this soup is that vegetables are to be chopped very fine so that each remains its identity and doesn't blend.

The aroma is fabulous. When you will start making it, I can bet that your family members will start peeping into the kitchen to check what's special is going on. You can experiment with the flavors according to the taste of your family and the vegetables available at hand. This is a vegan version. But vegetable broth can be replaced with chicken stock another minestrone will be ready.

Ingredients
1 cup macroni boiled
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp ginger paste
½ cup onion chopped
1 or 2 cup chopped carrots, potato, celery with leaves, cabbage
½ cup garbanzo beans or green beans, or any beans of your choice
1 cup tomato puree
4 cups of vegetable broth or water
2 tbsp herbs (optional)
salt and pepper for taste
grated cheese for garnishing (optional)

Method

* Heat olive oil in a large pan or pot and saute chopped onions.
* When golden brown, add ginger garlic pastes followed by chopped carrots, celery, cabbage and salt accordint to taste.
* Saute the mixture till all the vegetables are tender.
* Add herbs, beans and tomato puree.
* Pour in the vegetable stock and macaroni after five minutes.
* Sprinkle black pepper powder according to your taste.
* Cover and cook for about half an hour .
* Season with grated cheese and serve hot in bowls.