Minestrone soup

Right about now is the perfect time of year to dive into a warm hearty bowl of soup. The crisp chill in the air just makes you want to curl up in a comfy sweater, with a book, and a cozy bowl of soup. Right? I mean, that's how I feel, and I live in the sunshine state. Have you been to a chain Italian restaurant where they have Minestrone on the menu? It's my typical choice of soup starter when we go out. I just love all the veggies and that rich tomato broth. I'm not at all hating on chain restaurant soup, however making this version at home is just 10x better. It maintains that traditional Minestrone flavor but with a fresher flair and oh so many veggies. It can easily be made diet friendly with a few substitutions, but the base is really what you need. It's also flexible with the produce. If you don't have zucchini sub butternut squash or sub in sweet potatoes instead of regular ones. See what I mean? Let me warn you that this recipe makes a huge pot of soup. So it's either really great for entertaining or for freezing half for up to 3 months for an easy dinner at a later date. You could also halve this recipe. It seems like a lot of ingredients, but hopefully you already have quite a few on hand. Recipe below 🡻

Ingredients:

• 1 can of fire roasted tomatoes
• 1/2 of a 6 oz can of tomato paste
• 1 can of cannellini beans
• 4 cup of vegetable broth (can also use beef broth)
• 4-8 cups of water *difference explained after ingredients. 
• 1 cup of fresh lightly chopped spinach
• 1 1/2 cup of thinly sliced cabbage
• 2 baking potatoes cubed
• 1 cup of chopped carrots
• 3 stalks of celery chopped
• 1 sweet onion (can sub red) diced
• 3 large cloves of garlic chopped finely 
• 1 Large or 2 small zucchini sliced in half then chopped into half moons.  
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1 T fresh oregano chopped
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1-2 T salt
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 T Worcestershire sauce 
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 cups of pre-cooked pasta or 1 cup of uncooked (preferably a smaller type of pasta shape)

*I like to cook my pasta separate rather than cooking in the actually soup. This is because it soaks up a ton of the soup liquid and you end up with a stew. If you want to just throw the pasta in the soup to cook, only use 1 cup of un-cooked pasta and you'll need to add the extra 2-4 cups of water I mentioned above. 

Directions:

1. Using a large soup pot, place it on the stove, and turn to a medium heat. 
2. Add olive oil, onions, and red pepper flakes. 
3. Cook onions till translucent and a little golden on the edges. It'll only take a few minutes. 
4. Carefully, add in celery, carrots, potatoes, garlic, zucchini, and Italian seasoning.
5. Cook the veggies for about 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes to keep them from overly browning on the bottom. 
6. Add in the tomato paste and stir it throughout the veggie medley. 
7. Add in the fire roasted tomatoes, veggie broth, beans, cabbage, bay leaves, half the salt, and the fresh oregano. 
8. Stir everything together and cover. Allow it all to simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes. You might need to stir it once or twice, just watch out for the steam. #freefacial 
9. At this point I usually start cooking my pasta on the side in another pot of boiling salted water, following the directions on the packaging. If you already have the pre-made pasta ready to go then skip this step. 
10. After the simmer, add in 4 cups of water and the Worcestershire sauce. 
11. Allow the pot to return to a low simmer/boil. Low is key. 
12. Add in 2 cups of pre-cooked pasta to the soup. 
13. Taste and see if you need more salt and then salt to taste if needed. 
14. Add in the spinach last and then turn off the heat to the soup pot. The spinach will wilt down as you stir it all in. 

Serve with a good crusty bread and top with a little Parmesan or a lot ;) 

*Can be made ahead and kept on the stove on warm for a couple of hours, covered. 

*If freezing, double bag in a freezer ziplock or airtight container. Can be frozen for up to 2 months.