dinner divas do november

The THEME was soup tonight and there was a great variety: Chicken Tortilla Soup, Taco Soup, Tomato Bisque Soup, Italian Vegetable Soup, and Minestrone Soup.

I brought one of my favorites - Italian Vegetable Soup with Phyllo Croutons. It is a Giada de Laurentiis Recipe from Everyday Italian. I served it with Phyllo Croutons and the Phyllo Croutons recipe can be found here.

Italian Vegetable Soup
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Show: Everyday Italian | Episode: Hearty Italian

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 leeks (white and pale green parts only), chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 zucchini, thinly sliced crosswise
2 (13 3/4-ounce) cans quartered artichoke hearts packed in water, drained
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
10 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
4 ounces dried wide egg noodles
Freshly grated Parmesan

Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the leeks and saute until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in the zucchini and artichokes. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper. Saute until the zucchini are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the vegetable broth. Stir in the thyme and cook for 2 minutes. Cover the pot and bring the soup to a simmer. Decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer gently until the flavors develop, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the noodles and cook until al dente, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve.