7 Color Minestrone Recipes

COLORFUL MINESTRONE

Steps:

• In a skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; saute onion, leek and pancetta until onion is tender, about 2 minutes. Add garlic; cook and stir 1 minute. Transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker. Stir in all remaining ingredients except beans., Cook, covered, on low until vegetables are tender, 6-8 hours., Stir in beans. Cook, covered, on low until heated through, about 30 minutes.

QUICK AND EASY MINESTRONE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add the corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until it starts to brown slightly, about 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste, rosemary and oregano and cook, stirring constantly, until the tomato paste begins to darken in color, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth until the paste is smooth and incorporated into the liquid.
• Add the whole can of diced tomatoes (including the liquid), and bring the mixture to a boil. Stir in the pasta, the white beans and reserved liquid and the soy sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the pasta is al dente, 7 to 8 minutes, stirring in the green beans during the last 2 minutes of cooking. Serve in individual bowls with a little oil drizzled on top.

MINESTRONE

Steps:

• In a stockpot, saute the onions, celery and parsley in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the broth, tomatoes, tomato sauce, cabbage, carrots, basil, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour. , In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir into soup along with the zucchini, beans and pasta. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until vegetables and pasta are tender. Top each serving with cheese.

CLASSIC MINESTRONE

Steps:

• In a large pot, heat oil over medium. Add onion, carrots, celery, red-pepper flakes, rosemary, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to turn golden, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Add tomatoes; cook until some of the liquid evaporates, 1 minute. Add potato, cabbage, cannellini beans, and 7 cups water; bring to a boil. Stir in green beans.
• Reduce to a simmer, and cook until all the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; stir in garlic, if using, and basil. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan and, if using, torn basil. Drizzle with more oil, if desired.

GREEN MINESTRONE

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat; cook and stir onion and garlic until onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add green beans, peas, and zucchini; toss to coat vegetables with oil.
• Slowly stream vegetable broth into vegetable mixture; bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in rosemary and great Northern beans and bring back to a simmer, about 5 minutes. Add ditalini pasta and simmer soup until pasta is tender but firm to the bite and soup has thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in parsley.
• Ladle soup into serving bowls and top each serving with 1 heaping tablespoon Parmesan cheese; season with salt and black pepper. Garnish soup with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

MINESTRONE

Steps:

• In a large bowl let the white beans soak in enough water to cover them by 2 inches overnight or quick-soak them. Drain the white beans, in a saucepan combine them with enough water to cover them by 2 inches, and simmer them, uncovered, adding more water if necessary to keep them barely covered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until they are tender. Add the salt and simmer the white beans for 5 minutes more. Remove the pan from the heat and let the white beans stand, uncovered.
• In a heavy kettle cook the pancetta in the oil over moderate heat, stirring, until it is crisp and pale golden, add the onion, and cook the mixture, stirring, until the onion is softened. Add the carrots, the celery, and the garlic and cook the mixture, stirring, for 4 minutes. Add the zucchini, the green beans, and the potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch dice, and cook the mixture, stirring, for 4 minutes. Add the cabbage and the kale and cook the mixture, stirring, until the cabbage is wilted. Add the tomatoes and the broth and simmer the soup, covered, for 1 hour.
• Drain the white beans, reserving the liquid, in a blender or food processor purée half of them with 1 cup of the reserved liquid, and stir the purée and the remaining white beans into the soup. Simmer the soup, uncovered, for 15 minutes, thin it if desired with some of the remaining reserve liquid, and season it with salt and pepper. The soup may be made 3 days in advance and kept covered and chilled. Reheat the soup, thinning it with water as desired. Serve the soup with the Parmesan, the bruschetta, and the sausages.

WINTER MINESTRONE VERY DELICIOUS AND HARDY!

Steps:

• In 5- to 6-quart pot, heat oil over medium heat. Remove and discard sausage casings; crumble sausage into pot; cook until lightly browned, stirring often. Add onion, carrot and celery; cook, stirring often, until onion is soft. Drain and discard any fat from sausage.
• Add beans, garlic, bell pepper, parsley, herbs, tomatoes (coarsely chopped) and their liquid, and broth. Bring to boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer gently 30 minutes.
• Stir in wine and pasta and simmer gently, uncovered, until pasta is tender (10 to 12 minutes). Add spinach or Swiss chard, stirring just until it is wilted. Taste; add salt if needed.
• Serve with Parmesan cheese to sprinkle over each serving to taste. Makes.

MINESTRONE

Steps:

• Prepare: 1 cup dried cannellini or borlotti beans (see page 78). This will yield 2 1/2 to 3 cups of cooked beans. Reserve the cooking liquid.
• Heat in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat: 1/4 cup olive oil.
• Add: 1 large onion, finely chopped, 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped.
• Cook for 15 minutes, or until tender. Add: 4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped, 5 thyme sprigs, 1 bay leaf, 2 teaspoons salt.
• Cook for 5 minutes longer. Add, and bring to a boil: 3 cups water.
• When boiling, add: 1 small leek, diced, 1/2 pound green beans, cut into 1-inch lengths.
• Cook for 5 minutes, then add: 2 medium zucchini, cut into small dice, 2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped.
• Cook for 15 minutes. Taste for salt and adjust as necessary. Add the cooked beans, along with: 1 cup bean cooking liquid, 2 cups spinach leaves, coarsely chopped (about 1 pound).
• Cook for 5 minutes. If the soup is too thick, add more bean cooking liquid. Remove the bay leaf. Serve in bowls, each one garnished with: 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon or more grated Parmesan cheese.
• Fall Minestrone with Kale and Butternut Squash
• Follow the recipe, but add 2 finely chopped celery stalks to the soffritto and cook to a rich golden brown. Instead of thyme, add about 1/2 teaspoon chopped rosemary and 1 teaspoon chopped sage with the garlic. Borlotti or cranberry beans can be substituted for the cannellini beans. Omit the green beans, zucchini, fresh tomatoes, and spinach, and use instead 1 bunch kale, stemmed, washed, and chopped; 1 small can of tomatoes, drained and chopped; and 1/2 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes (about 2 cups). Cook the tomatoes and kale with the soffritto for 5 minutes, add the water, and cook for 15 minutes. Add the squash and continue cooking until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes, before adding the cooked beans.
• Winter Minestrone with Turnips, Potatoes, and Cabbage
• Follow the recipe, but to the soffritto add 2 celery stalks, chopped fine, and cook to a rich golden brown. Cut up 1/2 head cabbage into bite-size pieces and cook until tender in salted boiling water. For the green beans, zucchini, and tomatoes, substitute 1 pound turnips and 1/2 pound yellow potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces. If the turnips have fresh greens attached, stem, wash, and chop them and add them to the soup with the turnips and potatoes. Towards the end of the cooking, add the beans and, instead of the spinach, the cooked cabbage.
• Spring Minestrone with Peas and Asparagus
• Instead of carrot in the soffritto, use 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces. Do not let it brown. If green garlic is available, use 2 or 3 stalks, trimmed and chopped, instead of garlic cloves. Use 2 leeks instead of one. Add the liquid (half water, half broth, if possible), bring to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes. Omit the green beans, zucchini, and tomatoes. Substitute 1 cup shelled peas (from 1 pound in the pod) and 1/2 pound asparagus, trimmed and sliced on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick pieces. Add with the beans and cook for 5 minutes before adding the spinach. If not serving this soup right away, cool it down quickly in an ice bath so the asparagus does not lose its bright green color.

EASY SLOW COOKER VEGETARIAN MINESTRONE

Steps:

• Heat oil in the bottom of a 4- or 6-quart slow cooker on High. Add zucchini, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, salt, and pepper; stir to combine.
• Pour in vegetable stock, chickpeas, undrained tomatoes, and green beans. Cover and cook on Low for 6 to 7 hours.
• Add ditalini and cook for 1 more hour. Stir in pesto and serve.

MINESTRONE WITH WINTER GREENS

Steps:

• Heat a large pot over medium-high. Add oil and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in tomato paste; cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add beans and wine; simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid has thickened and wine has almost evaporated, about 4 minutes. Add 8 cups water, sage, and cheese; season with salt and black pepper. Simmer, partially covered, over medium-low 25 minutes.
• Bring soup to a boil, stir in pasta, and cook until al dente according to package instructions, stirring occasionally. Add chicory; cook, stirring, just until wilted, about 1 minute. Serve, topped with grated cheese and red-pepper flakes.

7 COLOR MINESTRONE

Steps:

• 1. In a 5-quart open kettle, lightly sauté leek, onion, and garlic in oil. 2. Add carrots, bell pepper, tomatoes, basil, arugula, oregano, thyme, sorrel, beef stock paste, black pepper, salt, and water. 3. Cover and simmer at least 1 hour (2 hours if time permits). Longer cooking time blends flavors even more. The soup can also be placed in a slow cooker and simmered on its lowest setting during the day. 4. Twenty minute s before the end of cooking, add the uncooked pasta. Uncover pot and stir frequently to make sure pasta doesn't stick. 5. Just before serving, stir in beans. 6. Ladle into large soup bowls and sprinkle with grated cheese.