Veggies Soup (Menestra de Verduras)
Ingredients: 1 onion; 3 garlic cloves; 4 tbsp of extra
virgin olive oil; 2 potatoes; 1 small zucchini;1 small
eggplant; 2 carrots; salt; pepper; 1 tsp of sugar; 2
ripe tomatoes; 1 bunch of basil; fresh parsley, 1.5
liters of water, 1 chicken breast, boneless.
Preparation: Peel the onion, garlic, carrots and
potatoes. Wash the zucchini, tomatoes and eggplant.
Chop finely the onion and garlic. Cut the potatoes,
carrots, zucchini, tomatoes and eggplant into dice.
Heat the oil in a pan, add the onion and the garlic,
and fry for 5 minutes. Then, add the remaining
vegetables, chopped as described above.
Sauté all the veggies for about 15 minutes over a
medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cover with water,
add, pepper and sugar to taste. Next, add the
chicken, chopped; the basil and parsley, finely
chopped. Bring to a boil and cook for 35-40 minutes,
or until chicken and vegetables are very tender.
Veggies in a soup, cooked with some boneless chicken breast is a recipe to bear in mind, above all in winter; it's not only a matter of a hot soup to keep you
warm, it also contains a series of ingredients that are healthy and have savory taste as well as a mouth-watering aspect. Some spicy sauce added to it, as a final
touch doesn't distort the recipe; also, some turns of black pepper mill would be a sacrilege. I have also found some variation in which the chicken is replaced
for cubes of pork lean meat, or small meatballs, previously fried in a little oil, and added at the same moment when the chicken meat is indicated to be popped
in.