Roasted Vegetable Minestrone

Absolutely fabulous! The roasted veggies with the prosciutto add many wonderful flavors to this earthy, rich Italian vegetable soup. Roast the veggies and then complete the soup in minutes.

Recipe Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 medium zucchini, coarsely chopped
1 medium yellow squash, coarsely chopped
1 medium eggplant, peeled and coarsely chopped (about 1 pound)
5 Roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 red onion, coarsely chopped
6 garlic cloves, peeled
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Olive oil cooking spray
2 ounces prosciutto
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
Dash red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves
1 (14-ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice, broken up
9 cup chicken broth, regular or low sodium
1 (16-ounce) can cannelloni beans or white beans, rinsed and drained
2/3 cup penne pasta noodles
Garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Cooking Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C).
2. In a large bowl, combine sweet potatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, tomatoes, red onion, and garlic. Add light olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and toss. Line baking sheet with foil. Place vegetables on the foil lined baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring vegetables after 30 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
3. In a large non-stick pot, coated with light olive oil cooking spray, cook prosciutto, oregano, basil and red pepper flakes over medium heat for 1 min., stirring constantly.
4. Add bay leaves, tomatoes, chicken broth and white beans. Bring mixture to a boil and add pasta. Lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the pasta is tender. Remove bay leaves. Stir in roasted vegetables. Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Makes 12 servings.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/12 of recipe): Calories: 240; Total Fat: 8g; Saturated Fat: 1g; Cholesterol: 5mg; Total Carbs: 33g; Fiber: 6g; Protein: 11g; Sodium: 350mg.