Silver Palate Minestrone Soup Recipes

CLASSIC MINESTRONE SOUP

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook onion, carrot, celery, garlic and rosemary until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in tomato sauce, beans and 2 1/2 cups water. Add broth, zucchini, pasta and pepper; bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, 10 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in parsley. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese and additional parsley, if desired.

THE BEST MINESTRONE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the meat is golden brown on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the pancetta with a slotted spoon to a large bowl, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the carrots, celery, onions, garlic, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, 4 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but not browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the potatoes and zucchini and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Return the pancetta to the pot, stir in the tomatoes and 8 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are just tender, about 20 minutes.
• Add the kale, beans and their liquid and pasta and continue to cook until the pasta is cooked through and the kale is tender, about 10 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and season with more salt and pepper if necessary. Serve with grated Parmesan.

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.

ITALIAN MINESTRONE SOUP

Steps:

• In a large pot add a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, roughly chopped onion, carrots, celery, garlic clove, and pancetta cubes. Sautee on medium heat for a few minutes stirring a couple of times in the process.
• Add potatoes, butternut squash, tomatoes, bay leaf, rosemary sprigs and a couple of pinches of salt.
• Give a nice stir and add enough water to cover all the veggies.Bring to a boil and simmer on low heat for 40 minutes. Add more liquid if needed.
• Past this time veggies will become super soft and will "melt" one into another creating delicious creamy texture.
• Once veggies are cooked add chopped savoy cabbage or other leafy greens and drained canned beans. Add more water if needed. Give a nice stir and cook for another 15 minutes.
• As a last step, add pasta or rice. Let cook for 5-15 more minutes depending on how long pasta or rice will take to cook.
• If you're not planning to serve minestrone right away, don't add pasta or rice immediately.Instead, bring the soup to a boil when you're ready to serve it and then add pasta or rice.
• Minestrone is ready to serve when pasta (rice) is cooked. I takes about 5-6 minutes for ditalini pasta and about 15 minutes for rice.
• Serve hot or warm generously topped with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

MINESTRONE

Steps:

• Soak the beans overnight in water to cover. Discard the water. Add fresh water to cover and simmer until the beans are soft, about 30 to 45 minutes. Allow them to cool in their water.
• In a large, heavy casserole, soften the onion, garlic and leeks in the olive oil. Add the celery, carrots, zucchini, string beans and potato and saute for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomatoes.
• Meanwhile, bring the chicken stock to a boil in a separate pan. Add to the soup ingredients and simmer gently for 1 1/2 hours covered. The soup should be thick, not watery. If it is too watery, uncover and cook until thickened.
• Add the beans and cook for 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Before serving, sprinkle the soup with parsley. Serve with a small jug of extra virgin olive oil on the side and a bowl of grated Parmesan cheese. The oil and the cheese are added separately.

CLASSIC ITALIAN MINESTRONE (SOUPE PAYSANNE)

Steps:

• In a large casserole or soup pot, cook the pork fat over medium-high heat until there is some fat in the bottom of the pot, about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Then add the potatoes, cabbage, chard, onion, and garlic until the greens are wilted, about 5 minutes.
• Pour in the water, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, add the beans, ham or smoked bacon, and tomato, and cook until the beans are tender, 2 to 3 hours.
• Add the elbow macaroni and continue to cook until a spoon can stand straight up in the center of the soup, and the pasta is tender--about 15 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil, and serve.

PEASANT VEGETABLE SOUP - SILVER PALATE

Steps:

• If using dried beans, sort thru the beans and discard any pebbles. Soak overnight in water that covers them by 3 inches. Melt the bacon fat or butter in a heavy soup pot. Add onions, leeks, celery and carrots and cook covered over low heat til veggies are tender and lightly colored about 25 min. stirring occasionally. Stir in thyme, bay leaf and a grinding of pepper, pour in the stock. Add parsnips, ham hock, green beans and zucchini and soaked beans and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer partially covered til beans are tender about 40 min. Remove ham hock aallow it to cool slightly. Cut the meat off and cut into chunks and return to pot. Add cabbage, garlic and parsley and simmer for another 5-10 mnutes. Taste, correct seasonings, adding salt at this point if it needs it. Serve immediately.

TASTY MINESTRONE SOUP

Steps:

• Cook bacon in a large soup pot, to render fat, about 10 minutes. Add butter, melt. Add garlic, carrots, onions and leeks and raise heat. Cover and wilt vegetables for 10 minutes (stir occasionally). Add cabbage, zucchini, both stocks and tomato paste. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer. Add Italian parsley, oregano, basil, pepper and salt. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes and pasta. Simmer until pasta is tender. Adjust seasonings, if needed. Ladle into individual bowls and top with Pecorino. Enjoy!

SOUTHERN MINESTRONE

Steps:

• In a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions, carrot, and celery and cook until the onions are golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 45 to 60 seconds. Add 4 cups of the water, the cabbage, and the cheese rind. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat, and then decrease the heat to low. Simmer until the mixture is flavorful and well combined, about 30 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes, green beans, okra, yellow squash, zucchini, parsley, basil, and red pepper flakes. Add more of the remaining water to cover by about 1 inch. Continue to simmer slowly over very low heat until the vegetables are just tender, an additional 20 minutes. Add the pasta, and more water, if needed. Simmer until the pasta is tender, an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper.
• To serve, ladle the soup into warmed bowls. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with grated cheese.
• parmigiano-reggiano
• Parmigiano-Reggiano is a hard, dry cheese made from cow's milk. The rind is golden tan and the interior is creamy yellow. True Parmigiano-Reggiano from Italy is aged eighteen to thirty-six months and is sharp and rich in flavor with a salty kick. While other countries make Parmesan cheese, real Italian Parmigiano- Reggiano is more expensive and is well worth every dime. Look for "Parmigiano-Reggiano" stenciled on the rind to authenticate the origin.