Minestrone Soup

Minestrone soup is the PERFECT soup for chilly, windy days. Today was that day. Ever since the weather started to cool off this last week, I have been craving soup. I just didn't know what to make. When I woke up this morning, I knew that I absolutely HAD to make some minestrone soup. What to do when you have no recipe? Just make it up as you go! As I always say, add whatever sounds good to you or whatever you have on hand.  I know that the ingredient list is long, but the directions are insanely easy. Just use this recipe as a rough guide. I do very, very much recommend getting these fire roasted tomatoes to put into the soup. FABULOUS!

This recipe easily serves 6-8 adults.

Ingredients:

• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 1-2 cups water
• 1/3 pound pasta of your choice (I used ditalini)
• 28 oz. can of diced fire-roasted tomatoes & their juice (I got mine at WholeFoods)
• 15 oz. can of light red kidney beans, drained
• 15 oz. can of cannelini beans, drained
• 2 large stalks celery, chopped small (I also added some of the leaves from the celery plant)
• 1/2 large red onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced into rounds
• 1 small zucchini, sliced thinly into rounds
• 1 medium/large red potato, peeled and diced small
• 1 very large handful baby spinach, roughly chopped/torn
• 1 medium leek, sliced-- white and light green parts only (Be sure to clean the leek really well after slicing. I use my salad spinner)
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 TB dried parsley
• 1 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 2 TB extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 1/2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• sea salt to your tastes
• 1/8 tsp ground coriander
• dash ground thyme
• 1/8 tsp crushed rosemary

Method:

1. Heat half of your oil in a stock pot, and half in a non-stick frying pan (both over medium heat).
2. Place the celery and onion in the stock pot to start them cooking. In the frying pan, place the potatoes, carrot, zucchini. Stir frequently so nothing sticks to the pans. When the onion is translucent, add the garlic, leek, and spinach and stir. Let cook about 2 minutes, then add the veggies from the frying pan. Mix well.
3. Add the tomatoes and their juice to the stock pot. Then, mix in the vegetable broth.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. If you're adding the parmigiana-reggiano, do so now.
5. Cook about 20 minutes, boiling gently, covered. Be sure to stir every few minutes so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.
6. Mix in your pasta and cover again (or cook separately and add in a few minutes). Follow the cooking time on the pasta you choose. Mine took 9 minutes, but yours may take longer. Once the pasta is cooked, you will likely need to add the water. I added about 1 1/4 cups hot water to mine and cooked it another 5 minutes.
7. Keep tasting and adjust your spices as necessary, and be sure to remove the bay leaves before serving. This soup goes very well with some delicious, fresh-baked crusty bread or some homemade garlic bread.