Wednesday, October 13, 2010

minestrone soup

I love soup. 
looooooove it. 
I could eat it every day....and sometimes wonder why we don't eat soup for breakfast?
we should. 

This is a favorite around here, it's very easy and I always have most of the veggies on hand. 
It's not your traditional minestrone....I don't put any pasta or cabbage in it, but we like it all the same.
minestrone

Minestrone Soup
serves 6-8

1 small onion, diced 
3 celery stalks, diced
4 medium carrots, sliced into strips (I'm sure that's a professional cooking term)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup of green beans, cut into bite sized pieces
1 medium squash or zucchini, sliced
2 medium potatoes, diced
1 can of cannelloni beans
2 cups of crushed tomatoes (or one can of diced/crushed tomatoes if we are in the depths of winter)
4-5 cups of vegetable or chicken stock 
1 cup butternut squash or pumpkin puree
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
2 bay leaves
s&p to taste

Sauté onion, celery, carrots in a bit of olive oil for 5 minutes. 
Something I have learned from watching hours of the Food Network is to salt your veggies when they start to "sweat" in the pan. Sounds gross, but do it. 
Add garlic and cook for about a minute more. 
Add potatoes, tomatoes, cannelloni beans and butternut squash/pumpkin puree. 
Mix together. 
Pour in stock, add your herbs, and bring to a low rolling boil. 
Reduce heat to low, place lid on and simmer for a few hours. 
I usually add the green beans and squash about an hour before we eat so they don't get too mushy. If you are in a hurry, you can add them with the rest of the veggies. This can be eaten as soon as all the veggies are tender, but it's better if you let is simmer all afternoon!

Remove bay leaves, top with shaved parmesan or romano, and serve with warm butternut squash bread

enjoy!

9 comments:

Ta said...

Soup is great for the fall i think! It warms up your insides.

Unknown said...

Even without pasta or cabbage (yuck!) I adore minestrone. I usually fill mine so full of veggies, it's more like a stew. :)

Yours sounds delicious and perfect for this slightly cooling weather we've been having lately.

Bridget said...

Looks sooo tasy.

Cherish Stockdale said...

minestrone is my fave!! and I just love your food photography!

Cares and Mimi said...

I've never made minestrone soup - I'm going to try this over the weekend! Yum! - Carrie

Tara said...

Great way to get a TON of veggies in! And looks so good!

Kandice said...

Oh that looks so yummy! I love soup! Question, did you change your photography site and I missed it somewhere?

sheena said...

kandice--for some reason my blog is down right now--I'm working on it!

it's still www.sheenajibson.com and should be fixed hopefully soon!

Tiffani said...

The very first time you had us over you made us minestrome soup and you inspired me to make a weekly menu; years later I am still in awe of all your talents, oh and your minestrome was great!