Tuscan Vegetable Soup With Fresh Sage - cooking recipe

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons sage leaves, coarsely chopped (NOT dried)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup fresh green peas or 1 cup frozen green pea
1 cup green beans, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup carrot, cut into coins
1 cup zucchini or 1 cup yellow squash, diced
1/2 cup celery & leaves, stalks diced and leaves minced
1 medium sweet potatoes or 1 potato, peeled and diced
1 (16 ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
6 cups sodium-free vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt, to taste
fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Preparation

In a soup pot heat up the olive oil on low-medium heat and lightly saute the sage leaves; about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove leaves from pot and set aside. In same pot, saute the garlic until soft, only a minute or two.
Add the green peas, green beans, zucchini, carrots, potato and cannelini beans. Stir mixture over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Add the vegetable broth and red pepper flakes. Simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 15-20 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide and ladle the soup into 4 individual soup bowls. Garnish each serving with the sauteed sage leaves.
Enjoy immediately! Don't forget the Italian bread and pop in a Bocelli CD (Furtiva Lagrina on the Viaggio Italiano recording) while you're at it!