The Ospidillo Cafe Minestrone Soup

"This is a classic Appalachian dish, brought to this country as Italian immigrants flocked to the mountainous regions of Appalachia in the late 1800s to mine coal -- they brought their excellent recipes with them. Over time, local ingredients crept into such recipes, making them a part of the Appalachian culture and tradition. I have updated the ingredients to facilitate convenience. Like most Appalachian recipes, this one conveys two primary characteristics: major flavor and, it "sticks to your ribs". That is a complaint we often hear in regard to vegetable-based soups, "An hour later and I'm hungry again." Not so with this one. The critical ingredients of this recipe include the Italian sausage, the carrots (which provide a natural sweetness) and the Italian dressing dry mix. The vegetables could certainly be substituted to include zucchini, turnips, and perhaps even some chopped Rocket lettuce. If you're not crazy about tomato-based soups, simply use more chicken or beef stock and less tomato/vegetable juice. Enjoy!"
 
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photo by Bone Man photo by Bone Man
photo by Bone Man
Ready In:
1hr 50mins
Ingredients:
23
Serves:
12
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ingredients

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directions

  • In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, sauté the bell pepper, onion, and Italian sausage in 3 teaspoons of the olive oil until the sausage has browned, (about 12 minutes). While it is cooking, break up the sausage as much as you can. Drain and discard grease.
  • In a large cooking pot, pour in the sausage blend, celery, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes with juice, beef stock, V-8, broccoli, garlic, basil leaves, Italian dressing mix, bouillon cubes, oregano, hot sauce, soy sauce, and six cups of the water, but do not add the lima beans or peas yet. These go in later. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to effect a slow boil and cover, stirring occasionally.
  • In a second cooking pot, pour in the reserved 3 quarts of water, the remaining teaspoon-full of olive oil and the teaspoon of salt. Stir and bring to a boil over high heat, covered. When it boils, slowly add the pasta and reduce the heat to effect a mild boil, uncovered. Cook the pasta, stirring occasionally, until it is just tender (al dente), then, before draining, remove one cup of the pasta water and add it to the soup.
  • Shock the drained pasta in cold water (this will keep it from turning mushy later), re-drain and set it aside.
  • After the soup has cooked for one hour, add the lima beans and peas. After 25 minutes more, add the drained pasta to the soup and allow it to cook, uncovered, for 5 more minutes.
  • Serve hot.
  • TIP: As the soup sits, it will absorb more liquid. Simply thin it with canned chicken broth and re-heat it if you want it thinner.

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Reviews

  1. I cut the recipe in half and followed the instructions except for using homemade broth (leaving out the bouillon) and zucchini for broccoli. Made for a tasty lunch...served with bread down at the beach. Thank you! Made for Zaar Chef Alphabet Soup tag game.
     
  2. Bone Man, your minestrone recipe is the best! I ask for forgiveness for not reviewing your recipe sooner as I have made this several times. I also shared with my DD and her family loves it as well. She made a pot for her neighbor, as the neighbor had just come home with a new baby and the neighbor's family also loves it, and who knows how far this recipe has spread as the neighbor is a military family. I usually sub zucchini for the broccoli and all else as you wrote. Excellent recipe. You have made many families' tummies very happy.
     
  3. This was perfect for the cold snap we've had here in Texas! I omited the broccoli and subbed sliced zuchinni and used two 14.5 oz. cans of petite diced tomatoes, but otherwise followed your recipe. DH has been enjoying the leftovers for lunch and there's a batch in the freezer.Thanks for posting this, Pat- it's great!
     
  4. This recipe makes a wonderful soup! I used two pounds of Italian sausage because my husband likes lots of meat in his soup. I think the balance was just right because this makes a lot of soup (be sure to use a large soup pot when making). The flavor was excellent! Using 8 carrots really does provide a sweetness to this soup that you may not expect. Other than adding more sausage, I followed the directions exactly and I wouldn't change a thing. This is a great soup and I will definitely make it again. Thanks, Boneman!
     
  5. I had been on the lookout for a minestrone soup and this one fit the bill. I used hamburger (doctored up per Kittencal's above mentioned sausage substitute) since my kids don't care for sausage too much (I think it's the fennel). I used one cup of the V-8 to make it less tomatoe-y. This is good enough for company, since we served it that way, with two breads: garlic and oatmeal. Thanks Bone Man for another flavorful recipe. Roxygirl
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>I am a retired State Park Resort Manager/Ranger. <br /><br />Anyway, as to my years in the State Park System (retired now), I was responsible for 4 restaurants/dining rooms on my park and my boss at Central Headquarters said I should spend less time in my kitchens and more time tending to my park budget. I spent 25 years in those kitchens and worked with some really great chefs over those years, (and some really awful ones too!) <br /><br />I spent THOUSANDS of hours on every inch of that park and adjacent state forest (60,000 acres) and sometimes I miss it. But mostly I miss being in that big beautiful resort lodge kitchen. I miss my little marina restaurant down on the Ohio River too. I served the best Reuben Sandwich (my own recipe -- posted on 'Zaar as The Shawnee Marina Reuben Sandwich) in both the State of Ohio and the Commonwealth of Kentucky down there and sold it for $2.95. Best deal on the river! <br /><br />They (friends and neighbors) call my kitchen The Ospidillo Cafe. Don't ask me why because it takes about a case of beer, time-wise, to explain the name. Anyway, it's a small galley kitchen with a Mexican motif (until my wife catches me gone for a week or so), and it's a very BUSY kitchen as well. We cook at all hours of the day and night. You are as likely to see one of my neighbors munching down over here as you are my wife or daughter. I do a lot of recipe experimentation and development. It has become a really fun post-retirement hobby -- and, yes, I wash my own dishes. <br /><br />Also, I'm the Cincinnati Chili Emperor around here, or so they say. (Check out my Ospidillo Cafe Cincinnati Chili recipe). SKYLINE CHILI is one of my four favorite chilis, and the others include: Gold Star Chili, Empress Chili and, my VERY favorite, Dixie. All in and around Cincinnati. Great stuff for cheap and I make it at home too. <br /><br />I also collect menus and keep them in my kitchen -- I have about a hundred or so. People go through them and when they see something that they want, I make it the next day. That presents some real challenges! <br /><br />http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/parks/parks/shawnee.htm</p>
 
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