Minestrone, 2 recipes
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Cooking time: 6 hours or 60 minutes for menu |
Here are two versions of this soup: the first is the traditional, made with dried beans. It takes several hours of soaking, and several hours of cooking. It makes 8 - 10 servings of soup; half for the two meals this week and the rest for the freezer (It freezes beautifully).
The second is the quick version using canned beans. It makes 4 - 5 servings. Choose the one you like. I'll note the different ingredient requirement on the shopping list. Either recipe only requires about 25 minutes of actual work.
Minestrone, Traditional Time: 6 hours total
3 hours soaking, 3 hours cooking, 30 minutes work
Chock full of vegetables, low in fat and packed with flavor; this has been a favorite soup at our house for years. It requires very little hands-on time and fills the kitchen with wonderful aromas while it cooks - the perfect soup! This method of soaking is supposed to prevent excess 'flatulence' from the beans ....worked for us!
2 cups dried kidney beans, (16oz, 500gr) I used 1 cup white and 1 cup red, but all of either is fine
8 cups water
1 medium onion, (6 oz, 180gr)
4 - 5 carrots (8 oz, 250gr)
2 - 3 stalks celery (6 oz, 180gr)
3 cloves garlic
3 cups cabbage (8 oz, 250gr) we'll use the rest later in the week
4 oz (125gr) spinach the rest of the bag from Friday - not typical, but it was there...
2 cans whole tomatoes (15 oz, 450gr)
6 oz (180gr) Prosciutto, thickly or thinly sliced or other dry-cured 'country' ham, it adds lots of good,
ham flavor
6 oz (180gr) regular, baked or deli ham also known as 'city' ham
4 cups chicken stock
5 - 6 cups water
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
spaghetti, 4 oz (100gr),
a 'circle' about 1" (2.5 cm) in diameter
Soaking the beans, 6 hours before dinner: Sort through beans, discarding any stones (never found any) or damaged beans. Put beans in soup pot or Dutch oven (5 qt capacity), add 8 cups of water, cover and bring to a boil over medium-low heat. This should take about 20 minutes. When just starting to simmer turn off heat and let sit for 3 hours.
Cooking the beans, 3 hours before dinner: Drain and lightly rinse the beans. Do NOT use the cooking water. Put beans back in the pot, add chicken stock and water. Roughly chop the Prosciutto and add to the pot. Cover and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 90 minutes. Do not let it boil hard - this could cause the beans to break-up.
Making the soup, 90 minutes before dinner: Uncover the soup and turn heat to medium. Mince garlic and add to pot. Chop carrots, celery and onions; add each to pot as you finish chopping. To cut cabbage, cut off a large slice next to the core. You may need part of another slice to get the 3 cups. Wrap and refrigerate the rest. Chop cabbage and add to pot. Drain tomatoes, reserving juices and roughly chop; add to stock along with juices. Cut regular ham into bite-size pieces and add to pot. Add herbs to pot. Cover and let soup return to simmer.
Finishing the soup, 20 minutes before dinner: Add the spinach to the pot - roughly chopping if large leaves. Break spaghetti into 3" (7.5cm) lengths and add to pot. Cover and let finish, stirring from time to time. Serve. Refrigerate the rest for freezing and eating later in the week.
Note: If you can get an actual ham bone (which I cannot) you can use that and plain water instead of the Prosciutto and chicken stock. Remove before adding vegetables.
Note 2: In the U.S. one can buy jars of 'Ham Base' which would be good - the appropriate amount dissolved in 1 qt water. The Ham Base could be substituted for chicken stock in soups, etc. in the future. I don't want to recommend buying it for just this soup, thus the chicken stock or bone.
Minestrone, quick version Time: 60 minutes
You can make this in an hour at a hard simmer (which I do) or you can put it all together and let it simmer gently for two....it all depends on your day. It doubles, triples, whatever easily....it's soup!
1 onion
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
3 cloves garlic
2 cups cabbage we'll use the rest later in the week
1 15 oz (450gr) can whole tomatoes
1 8 oz (225ml) can tomato sauce
1 15 oz can red kidney beans
1 15 oz can white kidney beans
1 slice ham, 8 oz, (250 gr) regular old pink wet-cured ham, also known as 'city' ham
4 oz (125gr) spinach only because we have leftovers - it's soup, after all...
1 quart (litre) chicken stock
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
spaghetti, 2 - 3 oz,
a 'bunch' about 3/4" (2 cm) in diameter - or less
In soup pot or Dutch oven (4 or 5 qt capacity) heat stock over medium-high heat. Mince garlic and add to stock. Chop carrots, celery and onions; add to stock. Drain tomatoes, reserving juices and roughly chop; add to stock along with juices and sauce. To cut cabbage make a slice next to the core. You will probably use just that slice to get the 2 cups. Wrap and refrigerate the rest. Chop cabbage and add to stock. Cover and let stock return to hard simmer. Cook for 25 minutes. Cut ham into bite-size pieces and add to pot. Drain and rinse beans; add to pot. Add herbs to pot. Add the spinach to the pot - roughly chopping if large leaves. Break spaghetti into 3" (7.5cm) lengths and add to pot. Cover and simmer 20 minutes longer, until finished, stirring from time to time. Serve. Refrigerate the rest for later in the week.
Note: In the U.S. one can buy jars of 'Ham Base' which would be good - the appropriate amount dissolved in 1 qt water. The Ham Base could be substituted for chicken stock in soups, etc. in the future. I don't want to recommend buying it for just this soup, thus the chicken stock.
Fried Confetti Polenta Time: 8 minutes
leftover confetti polenta
2 tsp olive oil
Slice polenta thickly, (1/2", 1.5cm). Heat oil in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add polenta slices and quickly fry until golden. Turn and fry other side. Remove and serve.
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