Minestrone Soup

A good Minestrone Soup is a treasure. Here you have a plethora of wonderful summer vegetables, simmered together in just a few herbs, that tastes so good you forget that there’s no meat in it. Plenty of protein from the various beans (I add cannellini beans to my version) makes this soup a meal.

To get the most pleasure out of Minestrone Soup you should use as many fresh vegetables as possible. If it’s summertime you really have so many options – the grocery store is offering sale prices, the farmer’s market has just-picked vibrantly colored veggies of all kinds, and if you have a patio you can at least grow the tomatoes. Fresh makes a tremendous difference for this soup.

Keep in mind that you are making a soup that will be consumed by the spoonful. Make sure that each vegetable you chop or dice is not only large enough to offer its distinct flavor to the diner’s palate, but also small enough that each spoonful of soup will offer a small variety of ingredients.

Minestrone Soup

Author: harriettscooking Cuisine: American Courses: Savory Soups

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Servings: 12

Ingredients

Servings

• ¹⁄₄ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Onion (Medium, chopped)
• 2 cup Carrots (Diced (about 3))
• 1 cup Celery (Chopped (1 stalk))
• 3 Garlic Cloves (Minced)
• ¹⁄₂ cup Parsley (Chopped)
• 2 cup Green Beans (Chopped)
• 4 cup Zucchini (Diced (about 2 med.))
• 2 cup Cabbage (Sliced thin or chopped)
• 2 cup Tomatoes (Chopped)
• 2.5 tsp Salt
• ¹⁄₂ tsp Ground Black Pepper
• 32 floz Beef Stock (or Chicken stock)
• 14 floz Tomato Sauce (1 can)
• 14 oz Garbanzo Beans (1 can)
• 14 oz Red Kidney Beans (1 can)
• 14 oz Cannellini Beans (1 can)
• 1 cup Macaroni (uncooked)
• 4 - 6 cup Water

Instructions

1. Pour EVOO into a large soup pot. Place over medium high heat. Add chopped onion, celery and carrots. Saute until onions are translucent.
2. Add parsley and garlic, stirring constantly for one minute.
3. Reduce heat to medium and stir in cabbage, green beans, zucchini and tomatoes. Sprinkle in the salt and pepper.
4. Add broth, tomato sauce and enough water to cover the vegetables. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat to medium low. Stir well and cook 15 minutes, or until vegetables have softened significantly but are still firm.
5. Stir in macaroni and resume cooking for another 5 - 10 minutes, or until the macaroni is barely al dente.
6. Stir in the garbanzo, kidney and cannellini beans. Add enough water to gain the desired soup consistency.
7. Heat through over medium heat. Serve immediately. Serve with crusty Italian bread and grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese