ISO MINESTRONE recipe

[kimbaby]

any one have any good minestrone soup recipes?
thanks in advance...

[VeraBlue]

I'm not sure how many people you are cooking for so I'll give you the ingredients and then you can do whatever quantity you like....

Drizzle some olive oil into a preheated stockpot, then add chopped (not diced) onions, celery, carrots and sweat for about 15 minutes. Don't let them get too brown, you just want to soften them a bit and get them to release some natural sugar. When you get to this point, add some diced garlic. Cook another 2-3 minutes. Add 1 cup of red wine. 1 more minute.

I use a combination of beef and chicken stock, filling the pot a bit more than halfway. Add chopped tomatoes with puree (canned will suffice, but fresh is always better) Check seasonings (Salt & pepper)

Simmer an hour. In the meantime, cook a small pasta shape you like. I prefer ditalini, but and elbow or tiny bowtie will work. When it's done, hold it aside, chilled until you are ready to add it to the soup. Also, in the meantime, chop zucchini. I also add peas, but I just use frozen. You'll need two types of beans - I use red kidney and cici beans, but almost anything you like can be used. Open the cans, drain them. Add half of each can to a bowl and mash them to a paste. You will also need chopped spinach leaves, I use frozen.

After the soup has simmered an hour, add the cooked pasta, the peas, the spinach leaves, the mashed beans and the whole beans and the chopped zucchini. Check the seasonings.

Add some pesto ( I usually use a tablespoon) and some grated parmesan. Simmer 20 minutes.

Sorry about the lack of ingredient portions...usually I just work without a net.

If you have trouble figuring how much you need, just consider how big your pot is, and how much you want to fill it. You already know how big the actual ingredients are...just picture it in your head. This will make a nice thick, but not stew like, soup...perfect for sopping up with a good crusty bread.

[Alix]

Kimbaby, here is a search for minestrone on our site. There are a ton of wonderful recipes in these threads.

[kimbaby]

thanks very much for both of your responses... :)