Can you think of a better way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon, than napping with the New York Times. A Sunday ritual. As I wake up, I think this cold weather calls for a homemade soup. The smells alone, will warm us all up, heart and soul. I decide on minestrone and let the fun begin.
What I love about minestrone, is the versatility. As long as you have the core ingredients in, which most of us do, you can make this soup sing. Then jazz it up with a few special items of produce you might have in.
The core of this soup starts with the holy trinity, onions, celery and carrots. Followed by chicken stock, tomatoes, beans, pasta, olive oil and herbs. Onions can be in the form of leeks or shallots. If you have any leafy vegetables in, such as baby spinach or swiss chard, it will make a wonderful addition. As far as herbs, parsley, rosemary, thyme or basil will all add wonderful flavors.
I happen to have swiss chard, so I will chop this up, and add it to my soup, after adding my stock and tomatoes. I also, love to use San Marzano tomatoes when possible. It lends itself to a sweeter final product with less acidity.
One of my all time tricks to making this wonderful soup is to roast a whole head of garlic, sliced in half, with some olive oil, white wine, salt and pepper and fresh thyme at 350 for 45 minutes.
Here it is, the saute of leeks, celery and carrots with a few tablespoons of good oil, salt and pepper. I like to deglaze this with one quarter of a cup of good white wine. Then hit it with good stock. My favorite go to brand is Kitchen Basics.
I am using whole San Marzano Tomatoes which I will whirl in the food processor with half a can, fifteen ounces, of white Cannellini beans to thicken and flavor the soup.
String beans are plentiful right now, and chopped into one inch pieces make a wonderful addition.
No soup is complete, unless there's good bread. Tonight it will be Parker House Rolls, from Bread Alone bakery in NY state.
Minestrone
2 leeks, cleaned and sliced, white parts only or one medium onion, diced.
2-4 carrots, small dice
2-3 stalks of celery, sliced
1/4 cup of white wine
1 head of garlic, split in half (wrap in foil and sprinkle with herbs and olive oil and bake at 350 for
forty five minutes to an hour till nice and soft)
1/4 - 1 lb. of green beans, swiss chard, spinach, zucchini, green peas. Chopped accordingly.
Green Beans (in half, ends trimmed) swiss chard ( leaves sliced in thirds), zucchini (diced).
forty five minutes to an hour till nice and soft)
1/4 - 1 lb. of green beans, swiss chard, spinach, zucchini, green peas. Chopped accordingly.
Green Beans (in half, ends trimmed) swiss chard ( leaves sliced in thirds), zucchini (diced).
4- 6 cups of good quality chicken stock (low sodium, if possible)
2 15 oz cans of Cannellini beans (save one half of a can to puree with roasted garlic and one cup of the hot soup)
28 oz can of good tomatoes
grated Italian cheeses
cheese rind of an Italian hard cheese, such as Parmesan or Romano
1/4 of a box of small pasta such as orzo, small elbows etc.
optional: pesto to drizzle when serving
Roast garlic. See ingredient list for directions.
Start with a saute of leeks, carrots and celery with a few tablespoons of good olive oil. Saute for five minutes. Add salt and pepper. Use your salt content in your stock as your guide of how much to add. I add some dried or fresh Italian seasonings at this stage.
Saute any additional vegetables you might want to add one at a time, such as string beans, swiss chard, zucchini etc. Add additional olive oil as needed.
Deglaze with white wine, until almost dry. Then add stock, tomatoes and beans, reserving one half of a can. Bring to a boil, and simmer away for at least one hour up to three hours with the lid slightly ajar. If you happen to have a cheese rind, now is time to add it.
Squeeze your roasted garlic out of it's skin. Add this, and your half can of beans with two cups of your soup and puree in a food processor or blender. Add your puree back into your soup pot. Taste, and adjust seasonings. Adding more salt and pepper as needed.
When twenty minutes away or so from serving add pasta, and continue simmering, until pasta is cooked.
When ready to serve, add your favorite grated Italian cheese, crumbled croutons, if available a swirl of pesto.
grated Italian cheeses
cheese rind of an Italian hard cheese, such as Parmesan or Romano
1/4 of a box of small pasta such as orzo, small elbows etc.
optional: pesto to drizzle when serving
Directions
Roast garlic. See ingredient list for directions.
Start with a saute of leeks, carrots and celery with a few tablespoons of good olive oil. Saute for five minutes. Add salt and pepper. Use your salt content in your stock as your guide of how much to add. I add some dried or fresh Italian seasonings at this stage.
Saute any additional vegetables you might want to add one at a time, such as string beans, swiss chard, zucchini etc. Add additional olive oil as needed.
Deglaze with white wine, until almost dry. Then add stock, tomatoes and beans, reserving one half of a can. Bring to a boil, and simmer away for at least one hour up to three hours with the lid slightly ajar. If you happen to have a cheese rind, now is time to add it.
Squeeze your roasted garlic out of it's skin. Add this, and your half can of beans with two cups of your soup and puree in a food processor or blender. Add your puree back into your soup pot. Taste, and adjust seasonings. Adding more salt and pepper as needed.
When twenty minutes away or so from serving add pasta, and continue simmering, until pasta is cooked.
When ready to serve, add your favorite grated Italian cheese, crumbled croutons, if available a swirl of pesto.
