Minestrone
photo by Lizzi
- Ready In:
- 2hrs 20mins
- Ingredients:
- 20
- Yields:
-
12 cups
- Serves:
- 8-10
ingredients
- 1⁄4 lb fresh green beans
- 2 medium zucchini
- 1 large potato
- 1⁄2 lb cabbage
- 1⁄3 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 3 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
- 3 celery ribs, coarsely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 (28 ounce) can Italian plum tomatoes, undrained
- 3 1⁄2 cups beef broth
- 1 1⁄2 cups water
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄2 teaspoon dried basil leaves, crushed
- 1⁄4 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves, crushed
- 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 (16 ounce) can cannellini beans
- freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional)
directions
- Trim fresh green beans; cut into 1 inch pieces. Trim zucchini; cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Peel potato; cut into 3/4 inch cubes. Coarsely shred cabbage. Heat oil and butter in 6 quart stockpot or Dutch over over medium heat. Add onions; cook and stir 6 to 8 minutes until onions are soft and golden but not brown. Stir in carrots and potato; cook and stir 5 minutes. Stir in celery and green beans; cook and stir 5 minutes. Stir in zucchini; cook and stir 3 minutes. Stir in cabbage and garlic; cook and stir 1 minute more.
- Drain tomatoes, reserving juice. Add broth, water and reserved juice to stockpot. Chop tomatoes coarsely; add to stockpot. Stir in salt, basil, rosemary, black pepper and bay leaf. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Rinse and drain cannellini beans; add beans to stockpot. Uncover and cook over medium-low heat 30 - 40 minutes more until soup thickens, stirring occasionally. Remove and discard bay leaf. Serve with cheese.
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Reviews
-
Very flavorful! I'm not sure, though, why the soup has to be cooked for so long a time; most vegetables are done after 20 minutes. I live in a small town and could not find canned cannellini beans, so I used regular canned white (Navy) beans instead, and substituted spinach for the cabbage, due to a family member with allergy to the cabbage. I also added some wine. I will definitely make this recipe again, although I will cut the cooking time down. My family thoroughly enjoyed the soup---great with some crusty French or Italian bread!
Tweaks
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Very flavorful! I'm not sure, though, why the soup has to be cooked for so long a time; most vegetables are done after 20 minutes. I live in a small town and could not find canned cannellini beans, so I used regular canned white (Navy) beans instead, and substituted spinach for the cabbage, due to a family member with allergy to the cabbage. I also added some wine. I will definitely make this recipe again, although I will cut the cooking time down. My family thoroughly enjoyed the soup---great with some crusty French or Italian bread!
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Lizzi
Chicago, 52
I live in Chicago. I'm a Medicare Liaison(Biller)for a hospital in Oak Lawn IL. For fun I search sites for new ideas and recipes. On 10/24/07, I recently attended a book sign in Skokie at Williams-Sonoma and the guest of honor was Giada De Laurentiis, from Everyday Italian FoodNetwork. She so sweet and pleasant and the biggest smile. She took time to get to know me She sign all 4 of my books, SHHH they are Christmas gifts. I received my very first cookbook at the age of 9, BettyCrocker big red hardbound book. I still have it and still cook from it. My passion is food. We have a group of friends that go out once a month to different restaurants and try different foods. I think my best experience was the Ethiopian Restaurant. I loved the culture and the spices that they use in their cooking. My pet peeves are people who are afraid to try new things or food. I look at it this way... life is too short, enjoy every minute.