Minestrone - My Version

Now that Fall and Winter are upon us the family request for a heart-warming minestrone will be delicately be brought into the conversation, and I will be delighted to see them eat all the vegetables with a little pasta.

What is a Minestrone: An Italian soup made with common and available ingredients that include beans, onions, celery, carrots, stock or water and tomatoes. There is no set recipe for minestrone, since it is usually made out of whatever vegetables are available and in season. It can be vegetarian, or contain a meat soup base (such as chicken stock). In fact the word "minestrone" has become a synonym for "a mix of all things". Minestrone distinguishes itself by the large quantity of fresh vegetables used and its thick consistency.

“Soffritto” – Soffritto is the basis for many dishes; it is a small dice of vegetables, basically: Carrots, Celery, Onions + Garlic
For the Minestrone we add Zucchini and Potatoes diced into half inch pieces. Fresh (preferably), if out of season, otherwise frozen vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, fava beans (in season) or frozen, broad Italian green beans, asparagus, etc., and add to these canned legumes such as: Cannellini and/or Kidney Beans, chick peas or garbanzo and so on, let your mind invent.


½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Soffritto
10 cups water or chicken broth
2 cups chopped Italian plum tomatoes, with juice
14 oz can Cannellini beans - or
14 oz can kidney beans
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup loosely packed parsley, chopped
Combination of above vegetables, or all, in bite size pieces
(You will need about 4 ounces of vegetables per person)
Grated cheese, for garnish


Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot.
Add the “soffritto” (onion, celery, carrot, garlic) and sauté gently 5 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned.

Add water or broth and bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Add vegetables, tomatoes and beans.
Simmer for 40 to 50 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

(For a thick soup, transfer half of the beans & vegetables to a food processor or a blender and blend into a paste. Add mashed beans and vegetables and bring to a boil.)

Season the soup with additional salt and pepper, if it needs it, allow cooking for 8 to 10 minutes more and shut off the flame and let sit for at least 15-20 minutes.

If you are adding pasta: Cook, separately, ½ a box of (Classic pasta for minestrone are) "Ditalini" or "Tubettini" according to box instruction – i.e. 8-010 minutes, drain and tossed with olive oil.
Add to the soup just before serving.