Vegetable Soup

Now I'm not one to particularly choose soup for my meal. But I came across this recipe in my "Beginners Cookbook" and thought it would be great for lunch or dinner.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 leek, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 carrot, diced
1 14oz can chopped tomatoes
4 cups vegetable stock
1 zucchini, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 oz short-cut macaroni (I used rainbow rotini)

Optional:
salt and pepper to taste
pesto or Parmesan cheese to sprinkle

1. Heat oil in a large pot, add the leek and the carrot, and gently fry for 5 minutes until the veggies begin to soften

2. Stir in the garlic and fry for 1 minute

3. Stir in the tomatoes and stock, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes.

4. Add the zucchini, red bell pepper, and pasta/macaroni, and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper

5. Serve warm with a spoonful of pesto and a sprinkle of Parmesan (I served wheat rolls with it too)

This soup was really tasty and so colorful! We ate the leftovers for a full week and I think V had some everyday too. Definitely going in my future cookbook I'm going to write :)