Tag: minestrone

Appetizers, Soups and Stews

Sunday Soup: Italian Minestrone

by Lynda Balslev9 Comments on Sunday Soup: Italian Minestrone

Minestrone Soup TasteFood

~ Italian Minestrone Soup ~

Sometimes, all that’s needed is a bowl of soup…to feed your family, to clean your vegetable bin, to warm and to nourish. Minestrone is an Italian vegetable soup that combines any number of vegetables, including tomatoes, leafy greens and potatoes. Beans are also often in the mix – or little pasta tubes called ditalini. I make this soup because I know it tastes great and will handily use up any odds and ends in my refrigerator. While some of the vegetables vary, I always include a hunk of Parmigiano rind in the simmering stock, which will slowly break down and give body and flavor the soup.

Italian Minestrone
Serves 4 to 6

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, cut in 1/4 inch pieces
1 medium yellow potato, peeled, cut in 1/4 inch dice
1 small fennel bulb, trimmed, fronds removed, cut in 1/4 inch dice
1 small zucchini, cut in 1/4 inch dice
6 cups chicken stock
1 15-ounce can chopped tomatoes with juice
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt, plus extra to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 2-inch chunk of rind from Parmigiano or Pecorino Romano cheese
1 15-ounce can cannellini or northern beans, drained
3 large kale leaves, ribs and stems removed, coarsely chopped
Grated Parmigiano or Pecorino Romano cheese for garnish
Fresh Italian parsley leaves for garnish

Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until beginning to soften, 2 minutes. Add carrots, rutabaga, fennel and zucchini. Sauté until vegetables brighten in color and soften slightly, 3 minutes. Add stock, tomatoes, bay leaf, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. If soup is too chunky, add more stock to desired consistency. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer and submerge cheese in soup. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, 2o minutes. Add beans and simmer an additional 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Add chard and simmer until  chard is wilted, 2 minutes. Ladle into warm bowls. Garnish with grated cheese and parsley.

one-pot, Soups and Stews

Minestrone

by Lynda Balslev23 Comments on Minestrone
Minestrone

Minestrone is a classic Italian vegetable soup. What’s nice about minestrone is that there is no set recipe for it, except to use whatever vegetables you have on hand, which is my favorite way to make a soup. Often it contains beans and pasta, which when combined are an economical and efficient source of protein. Sometimes it’s more luxuriously embellished with meat. In this recipe I have the requisite beans but no pasta and no meat. Any embellishment comes from the chunk of Pecorino cheese I like to add for extra flavor and body. Finally, when I make a minestrone, I try to cut all of the vegetables in uniform dice. For some reason, I think this makes the soup taste better, perhaps because it’s easier to get a little bite of everything in each spoonful.

Minestrone
Serves 6

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 carrots, cut in 1/4 inch pieces
1 celery rib, cut in 1/4 inch dice
1 small rutabaga, peeled, cut in 1/4 inch dice
1 small fennel bulb, trimmed, fronds removed, cut in 1/4 inch dice
1 small zucchini, cut in 1/4 inch dice
6 cups chicken stock
1 15-ounce can chopped tomatoes with juice
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt, plus extra to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 2-inch chunk of rind from Parmigiano or Pecorino Romano cheese
1 15-ounce can cannellini or northern beans, drained
2-3 large Swiss chard leaves, ribs and stems removed, coarsely chopped
Grated Parmigiano or Pecorino Romano cheese for garnish
Fresh Italian parsley leaves for garnish

Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until beginning to soften, 2 minutes. Add carrots, celery, rutabaga, fennel and zucchini. Sauté until vegetables brighten in color and soften slightly, 3 minutes. Add stock, tomatoes, bay leaf, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. If soup is too chunky, add more stock to desired consistency. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer and submerge cheese in soup. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, 2o minutes. Add beans and simmer an additional 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Add chard and simmer until  chard is wilted, 2 minutes. Ladle into warm bowls. Garnish with grated cheese and parsley.