Speedy Minestrone Recipes

EASY MINESTRONE

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Cook and stir garlic in hot oil until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Add onion; cook and stir until slightly softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in carrots until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Pour chicken broth and diced tomatoes into onion mixture; bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Add red wine, reduce heat to low, and stir green beans, pinto beans, spinach, basil, oregano, salt, and black pepper into broth mixture. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook seashell pasta in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain and stir pasta into soup. Ladle soup into bowls and top with Parmesan cheese.

SUPER QUICK MINESTRONE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente. Drain and transfer the pasta to a baking sheet. Toss the pasta with a little olive oil to prevent sticking.
• In a large saucepan over medium heat, warm the chicken stock.
• In another large saucepan over high heat, heat 1/4 cup oil. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the pancetta and cook until it begins to brown, 3 to 4 minutes, turning occasionally. Add the garlic and cook until it begins to brown, about 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Lower the heat to medium and add the onions, celery, and carrots.
• Cook until the vegetables are soft, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent browning. Add the chopped herbs. Raise the heat to high. Add the beans, tomatoes, zucchini, and potatoes. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Then bring it down to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender, 12 to 15 minutes, skimming any foam off the top of the soup. Season generously with pepper. Add salt, to taste. Just a few minutes before serving, add the cooked tubetti pasta. Serve warm with Parmesan and olive oil passed at the table.
• Cooking notes: Add the cooked pasta just before serving. If it sits in the soup too long, it develops a flabby texture. Tubetti (little hollow tubes) are the classic pasta for minestrone, but you could substitute another small shape of pasta.

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.

SPEEDY MINESTRONE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine the first seven ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

CONTEST-WINNING EASY MINESTRONE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, saute the carrots, celery and onion in oil and butter until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer., Stir in the broth, tomato sauce, beans, chickpeas, tomatoes, cabbage, basil, parsley, oregano and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add macaroni; cook, uncovered, 6-8 minutes or until macaroni and vegetables are tender., Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with cheese. Freeze option: Before adding cheese, freeze cooled soup in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a saucepan, stirring occasionally and adding a little broth or water if necessary.

MINESTRONE IN MINUTES

Steps:

• Bring the stock to the boil with the tomatoes, then add the spaghetti and cook for 6 mins or until done. A few minutes before the pasta is ready, add the vegetables and bring back to the boil. Simmer for 2 mins until everything is cooked.
• Serve in bowls drizzled with pesto and oil, sprinkled with parmesan.

QUICK MINESTRONE

Steps:

• Make the soup base: In a medium-size heavy soup pot, combine the oil and pancetta over medium-low heat to slowly render the fat and cook the pancetta, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine the onion or shallots, celery and carrot. Pulse until finely chopped. Add to pot with cooked pancetta and adjust heat so the vegetables soften and cook without browning, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Add the other vegetables: Stirring after each addition, add the kale or cabbage, celery, carrots, zucchini, beans and tomatoes. Season generously with salt and pepper.
• Add the stock and 1 cup water (or, if you prefer a soup that's not as thick, add additional stock to taste, up to 2 cups). Add the herb sprigs. Cover, raise the heat and bring to a full boil. Uncover, lower the heat to a bubbly simmer, and cook 30 minutes, or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Remove the herb sprigs.
• Serve in bowls, drizzling a little olive oil and sprinkling a big pinch of cheese over each serving.

QUICK MINESTRONE SOUP

Steps:

• Heat oil in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then cook onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 3 minutes. Add kale and sauté, stirring, 1 minute. Add frozen vegetables, tomatoes with juice, pasta, broth, water, salt, and pepper and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender and pasta is al dente, about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, transfer half of beans to a wide shallow bowl and coarsely mash with a fork or a potato masher, then stir mashed and whole beans into soup and simmer, stirring occasionally, until soup is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

QUICK MINESTRONE SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and prociutto, and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes or until the onion softens and is light golden. Add the potatoes, carrots, zucchini and celery, and cook stirring for 1 minute.
• Stir in the tomatoes and stock, increase heat to high and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Stir in the pasta and simmer, uncovered, for a further 10 minutes or until the pasta is al dente.
• Stir in the beans, parsley, salt and pepper. Cook, uncovered, for 1-2 minutes or until the beans are heated through. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Ladle the soup into serving bowls, sprinkle with the parmesan and serve with the crusty bread.
• VARIATION:.
• Kidney beans and vegetable soup: Replace the prosciutto with 3 bacon rashers. Add 45 grams finely shredded cabbage to the mixture with the tomatoes and stock. Replace the borlotti beans with 1 x 425 grams can red kidney beans. Omit the parmesan and top each bowl of soup with 1 teaspoon prepared pesto.