(improvised) tomato-pesto soup

I'm a fan of tomato - tomato soup, tomato juice, sun-dried tomatoes.  <3<3<3  There's a tomato-pesto soup I enjoyed at this Mediterranean restaurant, and I told myself I could figure out how to make something like it.   Now I'm not at all a great cook and most of my recipes are formed by improvisation an estimation, so you might not want to trust me completely with this one. ;)   I just know I like how it turned out.

 Not an amazing photo, but it brightens up the entry, more or less.  :p 

 

Ingredients

• Chicken stock (or chicken cubes)
• Tomato paste
• Various vegetables, diced
• Carrot
• Potato
• Celery
• Zucchini
• Onion
• Red beans or lentils
• Tomato
• Pesto sauce - you can find my recipe for pesto here
• Chicken flakes - you can use the leftover chicken from last night's dinner.

Procedure

1. Boil the veggies and beans until soft - not mushy, but just sufficiently soft as to be edible.  Of course it shouldn't take a genius to know that harder ingredients like beans and carrots take much longer.  Set aside.
2. Combine water and chicken stock / chicken cubes, stir in the tomato paste and bring to a boil.  You would like to put enough tomato paste to make it slightly opaque (not transparent).
3. Throw in the veggies and chicken flakes.  Cover and simmer.
4. Serve in bowls.  Swirl each bowlful with a teaspoon or two of pesto.
5. Top with black pepper, additional olive oil or cream if desired.  You can float a few pieces of penne (like I did), potato chips or a sprig of parsley or basil.