Hearty Italian Beef and Vegetable Soup

• 1  - onion
• 3 cloves - garlic
• 2  - carrots
• 2 stalks - celery
• 1 Pound - lean ground beef
• 2 Tablespoon - tomato paste
• 2 teaspoon - Italian seasoning
• 3 Cup - beef broth
• 1  - fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1  - cannellini beans
• ¼  - red pepper flakes
• 8 Ounce - Swiss chard
• ½ teaspoon - salt
• ¼ teaspoon - pepper
• ½ Cup - grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Chop the onion and garlic. Peel and chop the carrots, and chop the celery. Set carrots and celery aside.
2. Saute the beef and onion in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to break up the meat, until beef is cooked through and onion is translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the tomato paste, garlic, and Italian seasoning and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 45 seconds.
3. Add the beef broth, tomatoes, carrots, and celery to the pot. Rinse and drain the cannellini beans and stir them into pot. Bring soup to a simmer over high heat, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the chard.
4. Strip the chard leaves from center ribs with your fingers, and reserve ribs for another use. Coarsely chop the leaves.
5. Stir chopped chard into soup and simmer, uncovered, until tender, about 5 minutes.
6. Remove from heat. Season to taste with the salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and serve with Parmesan cheese. Cooled soup can be refrigerated for up to three days.