Yet Another Minestrone

Submitted by patti k.

"I realize there are lots of minestrone recipes out there. Here's another one. This one is meatless and can easily be made completely vegetarian by using vegetable stock. I like to splash in a bit of wine when I make this. Adapted from Cook It Light: Pasta, Rice and Beans."

 

• Ready In: 40mins
• Ingredients: 14
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch rounds (I'm lazy and use shredded carrots from a bag)
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (14 ounce) can chicken stock or (14 ounce) can vegetable stock
• 1⁄2 - 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1⁄2 - 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper
• 1⁄2 cup small macaroni noodles (other other small pasta, I generally take a fistful of spaghetti and break it up)
• 1 (16 ounce) can kidney beans, undrained
• 8 ounces fresh spinach, cut into thin strips (I use frozen chopped spinach)
• 1⁄4 cup packed fresh parsley (I use 1 T dried)
• parmesan cheese (for topping)

directions

1. Combine the onion, garlic and carrots in a large pot or soup kettle and cook, covered, over low heat till onion is soft and translucent, about 10-15 minutes.
2. Stir occasionally and add a little water or stock if necessary to prevent scorching.
3. Add tomatoes, stock, oregano, marjoram, basil and pepper and bring to a boil over med high heat.
4. Add pasta and cook till tender, about 10 minutes.
5. Add the beans and their liquid, the spinach and parsley and cook till heated through, about 5 more minutes.
6. Serve with grated parmesan cheese on the side to sprinkle on top, if desired.

Reviews

[kiwidutch]

Very tasty ! I came home from work and DH announced that he'd made this for dinner.. I lifted the lid of the pot and burst out laughing when I found that he'd made it with Bob The Builder pasta shapes! .. he said " well it said " other small pasta" in the recipe,.. and this IS " LOL, cooking can be a giggle some days :) The taste was good, strong and hearty, and once you have had a decent plateful you are quite full, so this is not a starter soup, more a true Main Course one. I liked this better than DH did, but he never was too much of a soup fan so I rated this as a soup lover should. Please see my rating system: 4 lovely stars for an easy and excellent winter night's evening meal. Thanks!

 

[Snicklefritzie]

Thanks for a great soup recipe. We are in the deep freeze here in MO and this hit the spot. I did add another can of broth, as my soup was very thick. I also added some celery and I used frozen mustard greens instead of spinach. I used white cannelli beans. Thanks again!

 

[lazyme]

Good soup! I realized at the last minute that I didn't have kidney beans and macaroni noodles so I substituted pinto beans and farfalle. This was a nice, simple and tasty soup. Thanks Pattikay.

 

[Cookin Mommy]

I love minestrone and this recipe was very good! I cheated and bought the matchstick carrots, vegetable broth instead of the others, fresh spinach, and the dried parsley. Added a little more pepper and did use the small macaroni. The seasonings are perfect and the parmesan cheese, definitely add that! Thank you Patti for my new favorite minestrone recipe!

 

[Sharon123]

I just loved this soup, but did make a few changes. I couldn't find my can of tomatoes, so used tomato with roasted garlic soup. I used vegetable stock, 3 cloves of garlic, left out the kidney beans and the parmesan cheese. Thanks for posting!