Recipe #257: Minestrone Soup

It's soup season!  Here's a classic.  I'm really disappointed in the pictures I took, especially since I got distracted right after I put the cheese on top and it ended up just looking like a white glob for the pictures, but trust me, it was hearty and delicious.  Taken completely unchanged (except for using a can of corn instead of fresh, which wasn't available) from myrecipes.com/Cooking Light....

2 teaspoons olive oil 

• 1 cup chopped onion 
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups chopped yellow squash
• 3 cups chopped zucchini
• 1 cup chopped carrot 
• 1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)
• 4 cups chopped tomato, divided 
• 3 (14-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth, divided 
• 1/2 cup uncooked ditalini pasta (very short tube-shaped macaroni)
• 1 (15.5-ounce) can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach 
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• 1 cup (4 ounces) grated Asiago cheese
• Coarsely ground black pepper (optional) 

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until softened. Add oregano and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Stir in squash, zucchini, carrot, and corn; sauté 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat.
2. Place 3 cups tomato and 1 can broth in a blender; process until smooth. Add tomato mixture to pan; return pan to heat. Stir in remaining 1 cup tomato and remaining 2 cans broth; bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.
3. Add pasta and beans to pan; cook 10 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in spinach, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Ladle soup into individual bowls; top with cheese. Garnish with coarsely ground black pepper, if desired.