Minestrone

Minestrone

Minestrone is one of Sharon's favorite soups.  For some reason, I was under the impression that I did not like it.  I made this soup as a surprise for her, and then realized that I have been wrong all of these years.  This is a really, really good soup.

After a little research, I determined that there is no set recipe for minestrone.  That came as a relief to me because I took several liberties with this recipe.  I found that kidney beans and great northern beans are a common ingredient.  We are partiel to black beans, and I had those on hand as well as pinto and navy beans.  I starting playing with the recipie and discovered that both marjoram and sun dried tomato pesto added a lot of flavor to the soup.

---Enjoy

Minestrone

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat in a soup pot.
2. Add the onions, garlic, green beans and zucchini.  Cover and reduce heat to low and sweat the vegetables for about 20 minutes or until the onions are transclucent.
3. Add broth, drained tomatoes, rinsed beans, carrot, sundried tomato pesto, hot water and all of the spices.
4. Over a high heat, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Add the spinich leaves and pasta and cook for an additional 20 minutes.
6. Ladel into bowls and garnish with Parmesan cheese.
7. Makes about 8 1 1/2 cup servings

Minestrone  Minestrone is a thick soup of Italian origin made with vegetables, often with the addition of pasta or rice. Common ingredients include beans, onions, celery, carrots, stock, and tomatoes. There is no set recipe for minestrone, since it is usually made out of whatever vegetables are in season. It can be vegetarian, contain meat, or contain a meat-based broth (such as chicken stock). Angelo Pellegrini, however, argued that the base of minestrone is bean broth, and that borlotti beans (also called Roman beans) "are the beans to use for genuine minestrone". "Wikipedia"

Ingredients 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 cup minced white onion (about 1 small onion) 1/2 cup chopped zucchini 1/2 cup frozen cut green beans 1/4 cup minced celery (about 1/2 stalk) 4 teaspoons minced garlic (about 4 cloves) 4 cups low fat low sodium vegetable broth 2 (15 oz) cans navy beans 1 (15 oz) can low sodium black beans 1 (15 oz) can pinto beans 1 (14 oz) can low sodium diced tomatoes 1/2 cup shredded carrot 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (or to taste) 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper (or to taste) 1/2 teaspoon dried basil 2 tablespoons sundried tomato pesto Parmesan cheese to garnish.