Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large stockpot.

Add the diced carrots, onion and zucchini and stir.

Season the vegetables with a generous amount of salt, pepper and the crushed red pepper flakes.

Cook for about 15 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften.

Add the tomato paste, broth, water, bay leaves and both kinds of tomatoes.

Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Discard the bay leaves.

Use an immersion blender to chop up some of the larger pieces for a few minutes until the soup is of the consistency you like. Or you can skip this step and leave it chunkier!

Add the cooked brown rice. Let cook for about 10 minutes. Taste and season with more salt and pepper as needed.

Serve topped with crumbled feta or parmesan cheese.