Pure comfort in a bowl, this Fall Minestrone Soup with butternut squash, spinach, cannellini beans, thyme, parmesan and pastini is incredibly nourishing and delicious.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ large yellow onion, small diced (about 1 cup)
2 carrots, peeled and small diced (about ½ cup)
2 stalks of celery, small diced (about ½ cup)
2 cups butternut squash, ½” cubed
1 ½ teaspoons of kosher salt
½ teaspoon of ground black pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
32 oz of vegetable broth
1 parmesan rind
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon of dried thyme
½ teaspoon of dried oregano
½ cup of pastini (ie short pasta of choice such as orzo or farfalline)
3 heaping handfuls of spinach
Juice of ½ a lemon
Minced parsley (for garnish)

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the yellow onion, carrots, celery, butternut squash, salt and pepper and sauté for 8 minutes or until the vegetables begin to soften.

2. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes until fragrant.

3. Add the diced tomatoes, cannellini beans, vegetable broth, parmesan rind, bay leaf, thyme and oregano and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

4. Remove the parmesan rind and bay leaf from the pot and add the pastini cooking for 8 minutes or until the pastini is al dente.

5. Add the spinach and lemon juice and season to taste. Garnish with parsley and serve hot.

Notes: This recipe is make-ahead friendly and freezer friendly! If you plan to make-ahead, boil and store the pasta separate from the soup according to the package directions in order to keep the noodles from soaking up all the liquid of the broth and getting too mushy. If freezing this soup, fill a freezer safe container to the top, cool completely then seal with a tightly fitted lid and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Fall Minestrone Soup with Pastini