MINESTRONE

No soup is quintessential to Italian cuisine as Minestrone.  Really, it’s a basic soup with vegetables. It can be a seasonal soup, using whatever fresh vegetables are available. I try to use as much fresh vegetables as I can. What separates this particular recipe from others is the fennel used as one of the spices.  This recipe also calls for bacon.  However, eliminating it and the fat it adds, will not take away from the soup at all. Use the olive oil as the basis of sautéing the vegetables; it is important though. In place of chicken stock, use vegetable stock which makes this soup completely vegetarian.

A note about using pasta in soups:   I use pasta in many of my soups (substituting rice for the pasta is a great alternative).  I usually use Orzo, rice shaped small pasta that stays firm in the soup. However, tiny shells, Ditalini, or any of the tiny shaped pastas that are available.  I cook it separately from the soup and add it just before serving. Try not to have the pasta in the leftovers.  Over time, the pasta will absorb much of the broth and become soft and mushy. 

Incidentally, doubling this recipe is quite doable. Just remember not to add the pasta to the soup you are not serving immediately.

MINESTRONE

1/3 cup dried white beans (Great Northern Beans work well), soaked overnight in 1 cup of water.  This hydrates the beans which make the cooking time less.

7 cups chicken broth, separated – 2 cups and 5 cups

1/4 lbs. bacon, chopped (optional)

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 green onions, chopped

3 tablespoons basil

2 teaspoons oregano

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon fennel seed,

1 ripe tomato, diced; or 1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup peas

1/2 cup Orzo pasta or any other small shaped pasta

Parmesan cheese

1. Place soaked beans in small sauce pan with 2 cups of stock and simmer until beans are tender – approximately 45 minutes.  NOTE:  For a thicker soup, mash half of the beans after they are tender.
2. In a larger soup pot, sauté bacon and garlic in olive oil for about 5 minutes.  If not using bacon, just sauté garlic in the oil.
3. Add onions, celery, carrots, and green onions and sauté an additional 5 minutes.
4. Add remaining 5 cups of stock, seasonings and beans and simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Add remaining vegetables and simmer an additional 15 minutes.
6. In a separate pot, cook pasta and add to soup.
7. Check seasonings and serve with Parmesan cheese

Enjoy!

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SOOPZON

SOOPZON

God bless, my dad lived to be nearly 85 years old.  And for most of that time, he was in good physical shape.  Because of his job as a Router for the Railway Express Agency, he was a physically strong man.  He liked to eat too.  I don’t think there was a thing he didn’t like or wouldn’t eat.  Except for liver and onions, he really didn’t have a favorite thing to eat.  (As an aside – you will never see a recipe for liver and onions on this site) But, I never saw my dad cook.  I don’t think it was because he didn’t know how to cook, he just didn’t. Probably because when he grew up he and my uncle Marty were the only males in the household. He had six sisters and a mother who no doubt did all the cooking.  From what he said, Aunt Nancy, the youngest of the sisters, did most of the cooking.  I remember her being a good cook too.

Dinners at our house were very informal.  We were kitchen people and every meal we ate was at the kitchen table and that was no matter where we lived.  The dining room was for special occasions and holidays.  I can remember at the holidays, because of the size of the crowd, there was always a card table put at the end of table in order to extend the seating capacity.  And somehow, we always had room for everyone.

I think it was my dad who first started this.  When dinner was ready, he would simply announce “SOOPZON”, or Soups On.  But with his strong Chicago Taylor Street Italian accent, it came up as one word – SOOPZON.  To this day, if the occasion arises, I say the same thing.

Well the point of this little prologue to start presenting some great soup recipes.  This is the perfect time of the year for soup and I have several recipes to mention here.   Enjoy and please make any comments you would like at the end of each recipe.  There is a “Comment” at the end of each recipe, you can click on.

The following recipe is great.  You will need either a food processor or blender for this reicpe.  But it is great.  This is great with just a salad and some croutons both in the soup and in the salad.  Also, try it with some cooked rice instead of the croutons.

Enjoy

                                                TOMATO SOUP

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 leeks, or 1 bunch green onions, finely chopped

1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped

1 celery stalk, finely chopped

4 ripe tomatoes, about two pounds, coarsely chopped

3 tbsp. tomato paste

2 tbsp. flour

4 cups chicken stock

2 tbsp. basil

salt and fresh pepper, to taste

In a saucepan, over low heat, warm olive oil, add leeks, or onions, carrots and celery and sauté, for about five minutes.

Add tomatoes and tomato paste, cook until the tomatoes soften, about another five minutes.  Sprinkle with flour and stir to mix well.

Add chicken stock, simmer until slightly thicken, about 20 minutes.  Stir in basil and salt and pepper.

Transfer to food processor fitted with a metal blade and puree, in small batches, till smooth. 

For a smoother texture, using the back of a wooden spoon, press mixture through a sieve.

Return soup to pan and heat and serve.