Minestrone
So the weather has kinda, sorta cooperated and gotten a little cooler. Which is reason enough for me to get into soup-making mode. Actually, I've already made two other types of soups this month because I got impatient (I mean it is October) and didn't really care all that much that it was still sweltering outside and was so not soup-eating weather. It's a trap I fall into easily each year when I see new fall clothes out in the stores, and harvest decorations adorning lawns and front doors in my neighborhood. So sitting down to a piping hot bowl of soup in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt with the A/C still running brought me crashing back to reality, twice. I never seem to learn my lesson.
I should have known earlier this month not to mess around with a) making soup before the weather cools off and b) not making this recipe the first time around. I always make Minestrone first once the cooler weather sets in; it's something I've been doing for a few years now. It's become like my own personal tradition.
So the other day when I heaved out my bright red Le Creuset soup pot and got busy chopping all the vegetables, I pretended that I had never made the previous two pots of soup, and that I stayed with my tradition of making this tried-and-true batch of Minestrone the first of the Fall season. Because sometimes, you just don't mess around with tradition. Lesson learned.
Minestrone
Adapted from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella HazanThe great thing about this soup is its versatility. If you don't like a particular vegetable listed in the recipe, you can substitute it with something else. When I made it, I added a fresh bunch of kale and skipped the green beans. And lets talk cheese: If your grocery store sells Parmigiano-Reggiano, be sure to get yourself a wedge, and be sure to save the rind! It's edible and you can put it straight into your pot of cooking soup. It will give it incredible flavor. My grocery store happens to sell packages of just the rinds--I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I first saw this! You can transfer them to your soup straight from the freezer. Both the grated Parmigiano and the rind can be kept in the freezer for a longer shelf life.
Note: This soup takes about 3 hours to cook, so be sure you allow plenty of time.
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 T. unsalted butter
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced carrot
1 cup diced celery
2 cups peeled, diced potato
3 cups frozen cut green beans (they can be put into the soup straight from the freezer)
2 medium-size zucchini, diced
4 cups shredded cabbage
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth plus 2 cups water (substitute vegetable broth to make it vegetarian-friendly)
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes with their juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 rind from a wedge of Parmigiano-Reggiano (optional)Wash, dry and cut up all of the vegetables. Drain and rinse the canned cannellini beans. Set everything aside.
Choose a soup or stock pot that will be able to fit all of the ingredients. Preheat the soup pot over medium heat. Add the oil and butter. Once the butter is melted, add in the onion and saute until it is tender and takes on a pale gold color. Add the carrots and celery and cook them for 2-3 minutes, until they start to get tender, stirring often. Add the potatoes and cook them for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Adjust the heat if necessary, to make sure the vegetables do not start to burn.
Next, add the frozen green beans and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring often to make sure they defrost. Add in the zucchini and cook until they begin to get tender. Add in the cabbage and continue cooking for another 5 minutes until the cabbage begins to wilt and get tender. Be sure to stir often so all the ingredients can cook evenly.
Once the cabbage has cooked down, add the broth, water, tomatoes, salt, pepper and the Parmigiano rind. Stir well to incorporate. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low so that the soup simmers gently and steadily. Cook for 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Uncover the pot and add in the drained and rinsed cannellini beans and cook for an additional 30 minutes, uncovered. Remove and discard the Parmigiano rind, and taste to see if the soup needs more salt. Serve hot with a sprinkling of grated Parmigiano.
*You can also cook some "ditalini"-shaped pasta separately and add it to each serving of soup to make it a little heartier.
Note: The consistency of Minestrone should not be too watery; it should be on the thicker side with some liquid. If you find the soup becoming too thick as it cooks, add small amounts of broth or water. If it still looks too watery at the end of cooking, cook it for a few minutes longer with the lid off to allow some of the liquid to evaporate.
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I've been thinking of this soup since you mentioned it! It sounds so delicious...I think it may be dinner tonight!
This looks and sounds so yummy! I have made soup a few times already too. The weather up here has gone from freezing to 70 degrees, then back to near freezing again within the last two weeks. There is nothing quite as comforting as a nice bowl of hot soup on a chilly night. I always save the rind from the Parmigiano-Reggiano wedge too, and I love the amazing flavor that it adds to soups!
Minestrone is my favorite soup and I'm sad to say I have never made it. My husband isn't a soup person so I do not make soup very often. I might have to make this one night and he can grab a burger!! lol Looks great!