Minestrone Soup

Back in the day (the way-back day) when we were in college, we had a brief love affair with minestrone soup. We can’t remember our mom ever making it at home, nor do we remember having it from a can at any point, so we had already spent about 20 years on this earth without minestrone being on our radar. Enter night class. One particular semester we had a night class in a building that was on the outskirts of campus. (As outskirted as you could be up on the bluff!) we would always wander over to Fisher Hall a little early and stop at the little cafe that was nestled in the bottom floor of the building to grab something to eat before class. On a particularly chilly night when we were craving something warm we decided to try the minestrone soup. Not being a vegetable lover, we were shocked at how much we adored that little bowl of soup. We loved the warmth, the heartiness, the beans, and it made us feel at home. From that night on, the minestrone soup was our Monday night ritual before class, and we loved it each and every time. We haven’t eaten it much since college, but always think about how we need to wrangle a recipe that we love, and we've finally done so. And it’s every bit as wonderful as we remembered.

This is one of the simplest soups we have ever made, but it does contain one key ingredient – a piece of Parmesan cheese rind. The rind simmers away with the soup and helps to create more of a stock, with an intensified and more developed flavor than if you leave it out. We highly recommend not skipping this!

One of a standby things about this recipe is that it is easily customizable to suit your tastes (and what’s currently in your refrigerator). Mix and match flavors, different vegetables, and even types of beans. Want to use kale instead of spinach? Go for it! This is a great formula for a completely customizable vegetable and bean soup.

We also highly recommend eating a bowl with a nice big chunk of from-scratch focaccia bread :)

One year ago: S’more Nut Bars

Minestrone Soup

Yield: 6 to 8 servings A hearty and comforting soup recipe

• 2 small leeks, or 1 large, white and light green parts sliced thin crosswise (about ¾ cup)
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped small (about ¾ cup)
• 2 small onions, peeled and chopped small (about ¾ cup)
• 2 medium stalks celery, trimmed and chopped small (about ¾ cup)
• 1 medium baking potato, peeled and cut into ½-inch dice (about 1¼ cups)
• 1 medium zucchini, trimmed and chopped medium (about 1¼ cups)
• 3 cups (90 g) stemmed spinach leaves, cut into thin strips
• 28 ounces (793.79 g) canned whole tomatoes packed in juice, drained and chopped
• 8 cups (2 l) water
• 1 Parmesan cheese rind, about 5 by 2 inches
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 15 ounces (425.24 g) canned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• ¼ cup (62 g) pesto, from-scratch or store-bought

• Bring the leeks, carrots, onion, celery, potato, zucchini, spinach, tomatoes, water, cheese rind, and salt to a boil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender but still hold their shape, about 1 hour. Remove and discard the cheese rind.
• Add the beans and cook just until heated through, about 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the pesto. Adjust the seasonings, adding pepper and more salt, if necessary. Serve immediately.

• Yield: 6 to 8 servings
• Prep: 20 minutes
• Cook: 1 hour 20 minutes
• Total: 1 hour 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 small leeks, or 1 large, white and light green parts sliced thin crosswise (about ¾ cup)
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped small (about ¾ cup)
• 2 small onions, peeled and chopped small (about ¾ cup)
• 2 medium stalks celery, trimmed and chopped small (about ¾ cup)
• 1 medium baking potato, peeled and cut into ½-inch dice (about 1¼ cups)
• 1 medium zucchini, trimmed and chopped medium (about 1¼ cups)
• 3 cups ( 90 g ) stemmed spinach leaves, cut into thin strips
• 28 ounces ( 793.79 g ) canned whole tomatoes packed in juice, drained and chopped
• 8 cups ( 2 l ) water
• 1 Parmesan cheese rind, about 5 by 2 inches
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 15 ounces ( 425.24 g ) canned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• ¼ cup ( 62 g ) pesto, from-scratch or store-bought

Method

1. Bring the leeks, carrots, onion, celery, potato, zucchini, spinach, tomatoes, water, cheese rind, and salt to a boil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender but still hold their shape, about 1 hour. Remove and discard the cheese rind.
2. Add the beans and cook just until heated through, about 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the pesto. Adjust the seasonings, adding pepper and more salt, if necessary. Serve immediately.