Sues Minestrone Recipes

CLASSIC MINESTRONE SOUP

Steps:

• Warm 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the chopped onion, carrot, celery, tomato paste and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables have softened and the onions are turning translucent, about 7 to 10 minutes.
• Add the seasonal vegetables, garlic, oregano and thyme. Cook until fragrant while stirring frequently, about 2 minutes.
• Pour in the diced tomatoes and their juices, broth and water. Add the salt, bay leaves and red pepper flakes. Season generously with freshly ground black pepper.
• Raise heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil, then partially cover the pot with the lid, leaving about a 1" gap for steam to escape. Reduce heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer.
• Cook for 15 minutes, then remove the lid and add the pasta, beans and greens. Continue simmering, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until the the pasta is cooked al dente and the greens are tender.
• Remove the pot from the heat, then remove the bay leaves. Stir in the lemon juice and remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Taste and season with more salt (I usually add about 1/4 teaspoon more) and pepper until the flavors really sing. Garnish bowls of soup with grated Parmesan, if you'd like.

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.

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.

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.

CHEF JOHN'S MINESTRONE SOUP

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add pancetta; cook and stir until it begins to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in onions and celery; cook and stir until onions start to turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in minced garlic and cook for another minute.
• Pour chicken broth, water, and plum tomatoes into the pancetta and onion mixture. Bring to a simmer.
• Stir cranberry beans, cabbage, garbanzo beans, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, and 2 teaspoons salt into broth mixture. Bring to a simmer and cook until cranberry beans are tender, adding more water as needed if the soup becomes too thick, about 45 minutes.
• Stir in Swiss chard and simmer until softened, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
• Stir in pasta and increase heat to medium-high and simmer until pasta is tender, about 15 minutes. Ladle into bowls and top with extra virgin olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and Italian parsley.

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.

SUE'S MINESTRONE

Steps:

• In a large pot over high heat, combine the meat, bacon, consomme, soup, water, tomato sauce, basil and oregano. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add the vegetables and simmer for another 20 to 30 minutes. Add the egg noodles and simmer uncovered for another 10 minutes.

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.

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.

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.