Minestrone Soup
Posted by : Hannah Orenstein
Ingredients
3 c mirepoix (diced onion, celery and carrots)
3 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves minced garlic
2 12 oz. cartons low-sodium Chicken or Vegetable broth
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
½ package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 zucchini, sliced
Parmesan cheese
1 c. uncooked Ditalini pasta
I love soup so much, a licensed therapist might classify my relationship with soup as unhealthy.
But, what’s not to love? Soups are versatile, easy to make and—if you don’t eat it all in one sitting, as I have come dangerously close to some times—you can have leftovers for an entire week. Also, you eat soups with a spoon (well, I hope most of us do), and doesn’t everything taste better when eaten with a spoon? Seriously, think about it.
My love for soup is also why I probably love Winter so much, besides my passion for flannel shirts. Once the temperature dips below 50 degrees (okay, 60), I whip out my biggest cauldron-style pot and start cooking up a batch of heart-warming deliciousness.
For an easy weeknight comfort meal, I love Minestrone. It’s a no-fail recipe and it’s packed with vegetables. If you’re short on time, start with a pre-chopped mirepoix, the standard soup base of diced carrots, onions and celery. I’m not a big fan of pre-diced veggies because they usually aren’t as fresh (i.e., as flavorful) as whole ones, but if it means means that you’re 30 minutes closer to eating soup, it might be worth the sacrifice.
Heat the olive oil on medium heat in a big pot and sauté the mirepoix until all of the vegetables are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Add garlic with 5 minutes remaining. Season with salt, pepper, dried oregano, basil and thyme to taste. Stir occasionally.
Once the vegetables are cooked to your desired texture, add the tomatoes and zucchini; season with salt and pepper. Add all of the broth and turn the stove up to high heat. Cover and bring to a boil.
While you are anxiously awaiting for the flavors in your soup to develop, put another pot of water up to boil for the pasta. I like to use diatalini, but any bite-size pasta will do. When you cook the pasta, cook it about ⅔ of the time specified in the directions because it’ll finish cooking in your soup.
After the pasta is ready, drain and add into your pot. You may need to re-season depending on how the pasta affects the flavoring of the soup.
Once soup is boiling (and smelling mighty delicious, I hope), add thawed spinach and beans.
Season to taste. (The MOST important rule of flavorful cooking is to season after you add every flavor to make sure that the flavors are still balanced. Anyone who’s ever watched an episode of Top Chef already knows that a lack of salt is enough of a reason to “pack your knives and go.”)
Okay. Flavors are developed. Your house/apartment/dorm/idyllic log cabin in the woods is filled with the glorious smell of Minestrone-tomato-garlic-goodness and you’re stomach is rumbling with anticipation. All that’s left to do is add the pasta, wait for it to cook up and eat. While the pasta is cooking, I’ll whip up a nice toasty slice of bread. By the time the toaster *dings,* I’m at the dinner table with a beautiful bowl of soup, garnished with parmesan cheese.
Grab your biggest spoon and dig in!
