Tomato/Carrot/Pasta Soup

Since the weather got chilly here today, and it had been storming all day long, I felt I needed a good hearty soup.  A soul-warming kind of soup.  Something chunky, something savory.  Luckily, Pinterest offered some good ideas to get me started on just what kind of soup I would make today.

I followed a link found on Pinterest to find this recipe, and I used it as the base for tonight's dinner.  I made a few tweaks to the recipe to come up with something that I know I will be making again.  :)

Here's the recipe for the soup I ate tonight, including the 'tweaks' I made:

2 Tbsp. vegan butter (Or you could use olive oil)

3 large carrots, peeled and sliced

1 stalk of celery, sliced

1 medium onion, chopped

1 Tbsp. bottled minced garlic

pinch dried thyme

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil 

2 cans of diced tomatoes plus liquid

3 cups vegetable broth

1 tsp. sugar

1 cup Silk's PureCoconut milk

Salt and Pepper to taste

Pasta* (I made homemade, recipe below.)

1.)  In a Dutch Oven, melt butter over med-high heat.  Add carrots, celery, onion, garlic and thyme.  Saute until the onion and celery are soft. 

2.) Add basil, both cans of tomatoes, vegetable broth and sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 1/2 hour or until carrots are soft.  Add coconut milk (this helped to cut the acidity of the tomatoes, it gave it a little sweetness.  I recommend Silk coconut milk over the canned variety- it has less fat and isn't quite so 'coconutty').

3.) Now, add your pasta and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until pasta is done.  I made homemade pasta, in which case I boiled in a separate pot so it didn't thicken the soup up too much. *Now that I have tasted this, I know next time, I will use tortellini or gnocchi.  This soup needs a heavy pasta.

Pasta recipe:

1 cup whole wheat flour (I used ww white flour)

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. olive oil

1/4 cup water

1.)Add all to a food processor or mixer.  I used my KitchenAid mixer with the dough hook, and it worked perfectly.  Mix until a smooth dough ball forms.  Add a tsp of water at a time if the dough appears to be too dry.

2.)On a floured surface, roll the dough out to a 1/4" thickness. Cut into pieces/strips.  Shake more flour on top, and let rest on a baking rack for about an hour.  

3.) Boil for 6 minutes in salted water, and then add to your soup. 

This was a great soup.  I can tell its a very versatile soup, too, whereas you can add just about whatever type of pasta/grain you have on hand, and any other types of veggies.  I think next time, I may add some corn.  Tonight, however, I just enjoyed it with a little Daiya Mozz on top (vegan mozzarella). 

Thank Goodness for left-overs!!