Minestrone di Verdura

This comes from one of my favorite cookbooks,  12 Months of Monastery Soups, by Brother Victor-Antoine d'Avila-Latourette. I made it the other day for a church function that needed a vegan soup.  I should say, all of the soups in this cookbook are at least vegetarian, and many, like this one, are vegan.  I made a couple changes to the recipe.  To start, I peel neither the carrots nor the potatoes.  Skin on, they have more vitamins.  Just scrub the carrots and they'll be fine, and if you use red or golden potatoes (which work better than russet in soup anyway), the skin isn't an issue.  Also I used diced instead of peeled tomatoes.

INGREDIENTS
2/3 cup olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 15 oz can cannellini beans
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
10 cups water
4 red potatoes, diced
A small radicchio, chopped
1 cup white wine
1 bay leaf
Chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to tastee

Saute the onion, carrots, and celery stalks in the olive oil for about 10 minutes until tender.  Add the beans and tomatoes and saute about 2 minutes more.  Add the water and bring to a boil.  Add the remaining ingredients and taste for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper for taste.  (Remember: it's much easier for diners to add more than to try to remove it!). Simmer the soup for 60 minutes, then allow it to stand 15 minutes more.  Remove the bay leaf, and serve.  6-8 servings.