Just as I was getting excited about the rising temperatures and the promise of spring (yesterday even smelled like rain mmm) the temp. dropped again. Today's grey skies and near freezing weather report had me craving comfort food. So I whipped up a pot of Minestrone soup. Soup is like a warm hug, isn't it? And with all the veggie goodness in this recipe it's sure to have the run-down and over-tired, (me), back to 100% in no time.
First off, I love soup. And I love making soup. I hosted Christmas lunch this year before traveling to my cousin's house for her Christmas dinner, and for Christmas lunch, I served soup. That's how much I love it.
The secret to any good soup is that it has to start off with a good amount of fat. I'm counting calories and watching weight like everyone else, but without a fat source, your soup is basically boiled veggies in broth. barf. The flavour comes from the fat and this soup has it in spades: pancetta. There are a lot of things in this recipe that I will say are optional: home made stock vs store bought, dried bay leaf vs fresh. But what can not be compromised are the following: you must use pancetta, you must use good, fresh basil, you must use penne, or another thick noodle, you must have a delicious piece of crusty bread or garlic bread to accompany your soup and for goodness sakes people use some good quality, grated Parmesan cheese to top it all off. If you've never scraped cheese off a spoon with your teeth you're missing out on one of life's great pleasures.
This recipe is adapted from Rachel Ray's and was delicious as is, just tweaked for my own preferences. To prepare; first, chop all your vegetables, fairly finely. Thinly chop your pancetta as well.
I use a vintage kitchen scale to get all my measurements correct. If you don't have a kitchen scale, I reccommend 2-3 smallish size zucchini. Only one if you're using a home grown large size zuch.
The original recipe does not call for potatoes. I like to use small, red potatoes, with skins on, quartered or halved depending on their size. It makes the soup even more hardy and reminds me of the soups my great grandmother used to make. We're Eastern European- potatoes go in everything!
Add olive oil to your pot over medium high heat. I like to use my le creuset dutch oven, but any good size soup pot will do. When oil is hot, add your pancetta. Let it brown for a few minutes (2-3).
Once it has browned, add all your other cut veggies: carrot, zucchini, onion, celery, potatoes, garlic, and your bay leaf. I used fresh today but I use dry too and it works just as well. Also a generous helping of salt and pepper. Throw it all in and let it cook together until veggies are tender but not overdone (if we wanted mushy veggies we'd open a can of store bought soup!) . I cook mine for 7ish minutes.
When your veggies are cooked, add in one can of white kidney beans and the strained tomatoes (or whatever tomato option you choose) I use slightly less tomato base than the original recipe. Lastly, add the chicken stock. I've used both homemade and store bought when I make this recipe- I promise it's delicious either way, so it's up to you and probably depends on how much time you have to be in the kitchen. Turn up the heat, cover and let come to a boil. And here's where things get a little different. The original recipe calls for you to add the penne after the soup comes to a boil, however you should do this only if you plan on eating/serving the entire pot of soup right away. Otherwise the noodles become bloated and limp and it will turn into more of a stew than a soup. If you are serving right away, go ahead and add the noodles to your boiled pot, if you plan to freeze your soup, or want the leftovers for lunches the next day; follow this step (kind of like choose your own adventure in cooking!): I boil a separate pot of water to cook my noodles in. So at this point, turn on that pot of water. Your two pots should come to a boil around the same time. When they do, take the lid off the pot with the soup in it, continue to let it boil, uncovered for the same length of time it takes your noodles to cook to el dante in the pot of water.
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| side by side pots keeps noodles firm and soup from being stoup! |
Once your noodles are cooked, turn down the temp on the soup pot to a simmer, and add a handful of torn, fresh basil (THE best smell in the world) while you strain your pasta.
I add a handful of noodles to the bottom of my soup bowl, and ladle the soup right on top. When packing leftovers, try putting a serving size amount of noodles in a baggie to pack with your container of soup, add them to the bowl once you've re-heated your soup thoroughly. Perfect work lunch! Top with a healthy dose of Parmesan cheese & pair with a good hunk of bread and your warm hug awaits!
Recipe:
Minestrone Soup - adapted from Racheal Ray
2Tbs evoo
1/4 lbs pancetta finely chopped
1lbs zucchini cut into strips lengthwise (discard seedy centers) and then cut into small pieces
2 ribs of celery with leafy tops, finely chopped
1 small carrot, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
a handful of baby red potatoes, halved or quartered depending on size; skins on.
1 bay leaf
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
salt and pepper
4 cups chicken stock
1 15oz can of white kidney beans, rinsed
12 oz strained tomatoes
1/4 penne
handful of fresh basil, torn
fresh parmigiano cheese.
Now that my stomach is full and my heart is warm.... back to knitting xo
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