"blond" Minestrone

Glori-B's Note:

Having recently discovered an allergy to tomatoes sent my Italian world into a tailspin. How would I ever survive?? Here is a wonderful, nourishing, comfort-food soup that I put together that eased my sense of deprivation. The amounts are very flexible, plus I've given directions on how to add tomatoes if you "must".

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 8

Yield: 1.5 cups

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 cup onion , chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil (or 2 tsp. fresh basi)
• 4 -6 garlic cloves , minced
• 3 cups yellow squash , thinly-sliced
• 3 cups zucchini , thin-sliced
• 1 cup carrot , thin-sliced
• 1 cup fresh corn (about 2 ears (or 1 can)
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup ditalini
• 1 (15 ounce) can great northern beans , rinsed and drained
• 1 (6 ounce) bag baby spinach , fresh
• 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
• ½ teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper (to taste)
• 8 teaspoons pesto sauce , prepared

Directions:

1. Chop onions.
2. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion to pan and saute until softened - about 3-5 minutes.
3. Add oregano, basil and garlic, saute about 1 minute. Stir in squash, zucchini, carrot and corn. Saute until veggies are tender -- about 5 minutes.
4. Stir in broth (I use 1 teaspoons of "Better than Boullion" to a cup of water.) Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer about 20 minutes.
5. Add pasta and beans to pan. Cook about 10 minutes or until the pasta is tender. Remove from heat; stir in spinach, add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Ladle into bowls; top with a dollop of pesto; garnish with freshly ground black pepper.
7. If you must have tomatoes -- add 3 cups tomato to 2 of the 6 cups of broth, process in blender/food processor until smooth. Add an additional cup of chopped tomatoes to the soup.

Reviews

[queenofeats]

This is now officially one of my favorite recipes on Zaar! I will be making this as often as I can. I really enjoyed the ease of preparation and cooking - it was one of the nicest times I've spent in the kitchen in recent memory, and the flavor afterward just made me even happier. I had to use orzo instead of ditalini, and accidentally used about double the amount, so my result was a VERY thick "stoup" in the end. Aside from that, no changes that I even considered, let alone needed. This one's a keeper!

[acerast]

Delicious! I made two pots of this simultaneously. The first just as you directed, the second replacing the carrots, corn beans and ditalini with Italian green beans and diced chicken (for my low-carb DH). Both were wonderful! The base of this soup is so flavorful that you don't miss the tomatoes and it gives you leaway to add veggies to suit a particular diet or taste. The only thing I might change is to omit the olive oil and simmer the onions in a bit of broth as the pesto adds flavorful oil to the soup. Enjoyed by the entire family. Thanks Glori-B!!