Tag: Minestrone

Weeknight Wonderland – a Meatless Minestrone for Mondays and Beyond

Even though our nest is now empty, sitting down at the end of a day with good food,  good wine and good company is the best. I’ve shared my crazy split shift life before and how it impacts everything, even cooking. Just as I’ve learned to create in a small kitchen, I am learning to create dinner in stages, and weekends are my favorite secret weapon. A little time spent cooking ahead on the weekend eases the time crunch Monday through Friday.

This soup was a Meatless Monday dinner, but it got its start on Sunday. That’s when I thawed out some of my homemade vegetable stock. I heated my trusty soup pot and used  it to sweat onions and carrots in a little olive oil.DIGITAL CAMERASome Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, lots of garlic and a couple of bay leaves livened things up.DIGITAL CAMERAI added the thawed stock along with a can of fire roasted tomatoes and let everything get happy for twenty minutes or so.DIGITAL CAMERAOnce it cooled a bit, I stored it in the refrigerator until Monday night when I got home from work, An extra bonus here, the flavors had plenty of time to get well acquainted with each other at their sleepover in the fridge.

The vegetable medley that I chose included zucchini, green beans, and artichoke hearts. I decided to give the squash and hearts a little extra color so I lightly browned them. I liked the color it added and there was a richer depth of flavor that the quick saute imparted. I actually did this during my mid-day break so that they would be ready when I got home. The other late arrivals were a can of chickpeas and a little orzo pasta.DIGITAL CAMERAThe final cooking was easy peasy. Once the stock base came back to a simmer, I added the beans and pasta, followed shortly by the green beans, then the zucchini and artichokes. The whole process took about 20 minutes or so. I toasted slices of multigrain French bread and topped them with a blend of Italian cheeses. They made a lovely topping  for the soup.DIGITAL CAMERA

The short cooking time of the veggies kept them nice and crisp. I opted to cook the pasta directly in the soup. It added just the right amount of pasta to the soup. DIGITAL CAMERAIf you are going to make this farther ahead or plan on reheating it the next day, you may want to cook the pasta al dente in water, drain it and refrigerate it to add as the soup heats.  Pasta has a strong inclination to soak up as much liquid as it can hold, which is an amazingly large amount. What was soup the first time around becomes a much more pasta-centric dish after a day or two. I’m a “cook the pasta separately” kind of gal, but once in a while, I like to eat soup with a fork, but that’s me.

 

Meatless Minestrone for Mondays and Beyond
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Servings
4
Servings
4
Meatless Minestrone for Mondays and Beyond
Print Recipe
Servings
4
Servings
4
Ingredients
Servings:
Instructions
  1. Heat a large soup pot over medium high heat. Add the tablespoon of olive oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the onions and carrots and a pinch of salt. Cook for several minutes until the vegetables begin to soften.
  2. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes and the bay leaves to the pot and cook another minute or two, stirring frequently.
  3. Pour in the can of tomatoes, juice and all and the vegetable stock. Bring up to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook covered for 20 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. At this point you can cool the stock and refrigerate until the next day. You can also complete the recipe at this time if you want.
  4. Coat a non-stick pan with olive oil cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add the artichoke hearts and cook for 5 - 6 minutes or so turning once until lightly browned on both sides. Remove from pan and set aside.
  5. Repeat the above process with the zucchini slices.
  6. When you are ready to complete cooking the soup, (re)heat the stock to a simmer. Add the chickpeas ans pasta and cook for 5 minutes, stirring it once or twice.
  7. Add the green beans and cook for 4 minutes or until they are the amount of tender crisp you like.
  8. Add the browned artichokes and zucchini and simmer everything gently until it is all heated through. This should only take a couple of minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
  9. Ladle into four soup bowls and top each with two of the toasted bead slices (recipe follows) and a drizzle of olive oil.
Cheese Toasts
  1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat the bread slices on both sides with olive oil cooking spray and place them on a foil lined baking sheet. Toast for 8 minutes, turning once. Top with the cheese and return to the oven set on broil and cook until the cheese is melted and slightly brown.
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By now you should know that this recipe is just a guideline. Change up the beans, the pasta, and the vegetables too, for that matter. If you have the time, the whole soup can be made in one day…just continue the cooking steps once the stock is done. Monday will be here before you know it (damn it), so give this a try. Hey, live on the edge and make it on Tuesday or Thursday.

 

Fully Loaded Minestrone…a Soup in Three Chapters

Once upon a time Mama D stayed home and cooked everyday. She created lots of wonderful dishes and wrote about them in great detail. She’s not a stay at home Mama anymore, but she is still in the kitchen every chance she gets and the wonderful dishes and stories continue to appear right here.

These days time management is the keyword in Mama’s kitchen. Working a split shift gives me a block of time in the middle of the day. Making something wonderful in these small windows of time is developing into an art form that I really enjoy. Many times I break a recipe down into smaller parts and complete each one before putting them together to create something delicious. That’s how this soup came to be.

Chapter One involved preparing the stock base. I began by sweating onions, garlic, and carrots in a little olive oil. DIGITAL CAMERAMy seasonings were simple, some Crushed Red Pepper Flakes and a healthy dose of McCormick Italian Herb Blend. (Love, love this)DIGITAL CAMERAA quart of my turkey Stock (featured in a previous adventure) went in and I let everything simmer for a good 30 minutes. I added a can of drained Fire Roasted Tomatoes and let it simmer a bit more. I stored it in the refrigerator overnight.

This soup story needed a little more meat. I found some bite size turkey meatballs that I had made a while back as well as one link of turkey italian sausage. I’m not sure why I only had one link, but it was the perfect little addition when I cut it in small pieces and baked it with the meatballs. They joined the stock in the refrigerator.DIGITAL CAMERAChapter two began the next day with cutting the vegetables that would happily swim in the soup. This task fit nicely into my mid-day window. I chose zucchini, colored bell peppers and frozen green beans.DIGITAL CAMERAThey created a vibrant splash of color, but they happened to be what I had on hand. They would go in near the end of the cooking. The shorter cooking time allowed them to keep their vivid color and a slightly crisp texture.

It isn’t Minestrone for me unless there is some kind of bean. Cannellini filled the bill beautifully. Drained and rinsed they would come fashionably late to the party. So, my mise en place was in place, ready for the final chapter that began when I got home from work.

The soup pot was ready on the stove and the tomato – turkey stock went back in. It heated slowly while I enjoyed a  glass of wine and some pleasant conversation with my husband.

When it was time to add the veggies, I wanted to give them a little extra love, so I briefly cooked them in a little olive oil and Italian Herb blend. The green beans sat this step out because they were already blanched.DIGITAL CAMERA

Finally the time was right to bring all the characters together for the denouement. The vegetables, beans, meatballs, and sausage joined together in the pot in perfect harmony.DIGITAL CAMERAA little more time over the heat and it was ready to eat. The only adornment was a little shaved Pecorino Romano. It was as satisfying as finishing a really  good book…DIGITAL CAMERAThis soup can easily be made all at once in the traditional way. That’s how the recipe is written. As always, make it your own…use the ingredients you love or what’s on hand. Use as many short cuts as you want or take the long way round. Here’s the basic recipe to get you started.

Fully Loaded Minestrone
Print Recipe
Servings
4
Servings
4
Fully Loaded Minestrone
Print Recipe
Servings
4
Servings
4
Ingredients
Servings:
Instructions
  1. Warm a large soup pot over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and heat for 1 minute. Add the chopped onions, carrots and garlic to the pan alond with the pepper flakes and 1 teaspoon of the Italian seasoning and cook stirring occasionally 5 minutes. The vegetables should begin to soften and become fragrant.
  2. Add the stock and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes. Add the drained tomatoes and simmer for another 15 minutes.
  3. While the stock simmers cook the meatballs and sausage. This can be done in the oven at 350 degrees. It will take about 20 minutes. Set aside when cooked.
  4. In a large fry pan heat the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the peppers, zucchini and the remianing Italian Herb Blend. Cook for 5 minutes just until the vegetables are slightly soft.
  5. Add the meats and sauteed vegetables to the simmering soup pot. Cook for 5 minutes or so. Add the drained cannelinni and the green beans. Simmer 5 minutes more or until everything is heated through.
  6. Taste and make any adjustments to the seasonings. Ladle into bowls and serve with a bit of shaved Romano Cheese.
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Mama D’s Minestrone Adventure

MInestrone, every cook seems to have a recipe. Mama D has one, too. In fact over the years she’s made various kinds of Minestrone. I must confess this one is new. My old go-to recipe was kind of boring so I decided to reinvent it. I also wanted to find out a little more about where it came from and see what other people put in their soup. Inspiration is a good thing, after all.

Minestrone has lots of different versions. Even Italians can’t agree (no surprise there). Every recipe I looked at had a slightly different ingredient list. Some featured meat, others didn’t. Vegetables varied from a few onions and tomatoes to an entire produce market. The only constant seems to be that it is a vegetable soup with beans. Historically, it is considered “cucina povera” food of the poor because the ingredients are accessible to all and usually change seasonally. Anyway you cook it it’s cheap.

DIGITAL CAMERAThere are two inspirations for this recipe. One is the vegetable DIGITAL CAMERAstock that I recently made. The other is an article from “Fine Cooking” magazine about dried garbanzo beans. Pot O’ Gold by Melissa Pellegrino. These have become the basis for the soup I’m sharing today.

DIGITAL CAMERAI would call this recipe a Winter Minestrone. It is winter (snow on the ground and single digit temperatures). I steadfastly like to use what I have in the house so the ingredients are quite basic. The soup starts with a medley of vegetables with onion being in the majority. Carrots and garlic round out the aromatics. These are sweated in some olive oil along with a little potato. Canned tomatoes are added for color and flavor. I went with a modest amount of tomatoes, but feel free to use the big can.

I used a combination of vegetable stock and garbanzo cooking water (this adds a little more DIGITAL CAMERAbean flavor and also thickens things a bit), and added a small Parmesan rind because I had one. I added lots of garbanzo beans There really is a difference with garbanzos home cooked, They are creamier and oh, so flavorful.  I would probably go with fresh green beans in this, but I couldn’t find any that looked like they would actually taste like green beans so I opted for frozen cut green beans that I thawed. That rounded out the main ingredients.

I like most of my soups a little on the thick side. To create a little more body in many of my soups, including this one, I add potato flakes. I’m using them as an ingredient so I won’t call them by their real name, Instant Mashed Potatoes. I know what you’re thinking, and no, I don’t use them in their traditional way. They incorporate almost instantly, and because they are used in small quantities they don’t impart much flavor. Give it a try…you’ll be surprised.

DIGITAL CAMERAPesto is green goodness. It adds that slap you in the face flavor DIGITAL CAMERAand takes whatever you put it in to another level. I always have this in my freezer for just his kind of occasion. It is a wonderful addition to the soup. I like my pesto subtle so I make it with roasted garlic. I freeze it in 1/4 cup portions. it sounds like a small amount, but it goes a long way. If you choose to add more, I won’t be offended. i won’t even mind if you leave it out. That goes for anything in this recipe. I will probably make this soup differently the next time depending on my mood and my pantry. That’s the beauty of cooking…what rules there are, can usually be broken or at least bent a little.

Mama D's Minestrone
Print Recipe
Mama D's take on an Italian classic..
Servings
6
Servings
6
Mama D's Minestrone
Print Recipe
Mama D's take on an Italian classic..
Servings
6
Servings
6
Ingredients
Servings:
Instructions
  1. Heat a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil. Add the onions, carrots, and potatoes. Cook 5 minutes until the onion begins to soften. Add the garlic and cook stirring often until the garlic becomes fragrant, 2 minutes or so.
  2. Add the tomatoes and stir to combine everything. Cook over medium high heat for 5 minutes stirring often. Add the garbanzo water, vegetable stock, and cheese rind. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered 30 minutes.
  3. Add the garbanzo beans and the herbs. Cook for 5 minutes or so. if you like a thicker soup add the instant potato flakes and stir to combine. Cook for 3 minutes or until you notice things beginning to thicken. Add the green beans and heat for another 5 minutes.
  4. Lower the heat and add the pesto. Sir to combine. Taste at this point and add salt and pepper to your preference. Continue to heat until everything is beautifully steamy.
  5. Divide the cooked pasta into 6 soup bowls. Ladle the soup on top of the pasta. Top with the Parmesan shavings and garnish with more pesto if desired.
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Winter has only just begun. There’s plenty of time for a hearty bowl of Minestrone.           Enjoy – Mama D