Minestrone Soup

 

It is time for a great bowl of soup, and this recipe will give us a great bowl of vegetable soup every time. Minestrone means "Big Soup", a very thick vegetable soup and this recipe sure lives up to that meaning of "Big Soup". 

As our summer garden moves along, sometime I have bits of vegetables that are left over from a recipe or just not enough to make a full measure yet. I just put those bits into a small plastic freezer bag mark it and send it off to the freezer. I use those little bits all year long in soups, stews, casseroles and vegetable dishes. Today I am using quiet a few of those little bags to help make this minestrone soup very special!

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How To Make Minestrone Soup Recipe

I like to prepare this recipe in layers of wonderful vegetables and seasons. We begin with a sauté of fresh onion, celery, carrot and some green beans frozen from the summer garden. A little olive oil and broth sautéed until the onion is clear. 

Continuing to layer adding from the summer garden, some zoodles, okra, and corn, then add a little more broth and continue to sauté. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to each layer. 

Next we will start to layer our canned goods from the garden ( or canned if not available), We are adding diced tomatoes or stewed tomatoes, cannellini beans, dark red kidney beans and garbanzo beans. The beans will need to be drained well and washed.

We have now added a jar of tomato & basil sauce. After a short trip to the winter garden I have some fresh kale and fresh sage to go into the pot. By this time the smell of this soup is amazing!

The very last thing I put into the pot is the cooked Ditalini pasta. Stir it well and add the last of the seasons, then just let it simmer for a while, it will be delicious.

The Recipe

Yield: 12

Author: Miz Helen's Kitchen

Minestrone Soup

A great recipe packed with garden vegetables and tomato basil sauce. A delicious vegetable soup.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 carrots, cleaned, sliced
• 3 stalks celery , cleaned, sliced
• 1 cup fresh or frozen green beans, 1/2" pieces
• 1 cup fresh or frozen okra, cleaned, sliced
• 1 cup fresh or frozen zucchini, sliced
• 1 cup fresh or frozen corn
• 2 cans ( 14.5 ounce) diced or stewed tomatoes
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups fresh kale, chopped, stems removed
• 1 ( 24 ounce ) jar tomato & basil sauce
• 6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 cup cooked tubular (ditalini ) pasta
• 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

1. In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil. Sauté the onions, garlic, celery, carrot, until the onion is clear.
2. Next add 1/4 cup of the broth and the green beans, okra, zucchini and corn. Stir the vegetable mix until it begins to heat.
3. Add the diced or stewed tomatoes, and all the beans, stirring after each addition.
4. Sprinkle 1/2 of the seasons over the mixture and stir well.
5. Stir in the tomato basil sauce. Stir in the kale and let cook on low for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Add the remainder of the broth and the remainder of the seasons and stir well. Stir in the pasta then place the lid on the pot and cook on low for 30 minutes.

Notes:

Add a chunk of Parmigiano cheese to the pot before the final stirring.

Garnish each bowl of soup with grated Parmesan cheese before serving.

Although I did not include the sprig of fresh sage in the recipe, I sometimes will place a sprig of fresh sage in the pot if it is available. I got this sprig out of the garden.

This is a delicious and very hearty soup!

Thanks so much for sharing this great bowl of soup with us today, food is better when shared with a friend. We always have space at our table for just one more. Hope you have a fantastic week and come back to see us real soon!

Peace and Joy

Miz Helen

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