Garden Minestrone Food

GARDEN MINESTRONE

Steps:

• In a 6-quart stockpot, heat oil over medium heat. Add carrots, celery and onion; cook until tender, 6-8 minutes. Add zucchini, yellow squash and seasonings; cook and stir until squash is crisp-tender, 4-6 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer., Mash 1/2 cup beans with a fork. Stir mashed beans and tomatoes into vegetables. Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 10-12 minutes., Stir in pasta and remaining beans; return to a boil. Cook, uncovered, 7-9 minutes or just until pasta is tender. Discard bay leaves. Stir in spinach; cook until spinach is wilted., Freeze option: Add remaining beans but not pasta and spinach. Cool soup; freeze in freezer containers for up to 3 months. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Place in a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Stir in pasta; return to a boil. Reduce heat; cook, uncovered, for 7-9 minutes or until pasta is tender. Discard bay leaves. Add spinach and cook until wilted.

WINTER MINESTRONE AND GARLIC BRUSCHETTA

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven. Add the pancetta and cook over medium-low heat for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Add the onions, carrots, celery, squash, garlic, and thyme and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the tomatoes, 6 cups of the chicken stock, the bay leaf, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper to the pot. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Discard the bay leaf. Add the beans and cooked pasta and heat through. The soup should be quite thick but if it's too thick, I add more chicken stock.
• Just before serving, reheat the soup, add the spinach, and toss with 2 big spoons (like tossing a salad). Cook just until the leaves are wilted. Stir in the white wine and pesto. Depending on the saltiness of the chicken stock, add another teaspoon or two of salt to taste. Serve large shallow bowls of soup with a bruschetta on top. Sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, drizzle with olive oil and serve hot.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Slice the baguette at a 45 degree angle in 1/2-inch-thick slices. Brush both sides of the bread with olive oil and bake for 6 minutes, until lightly toasted. Take the slices out of the oven and rub the surface of each one with the cut clove of garlic.

OLIVE GARDEN MINESTRONE SOUP

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat.
• When oil is hot add onions, celery, carrots, and garlic. Add a pinch of salt to help the vegetables sweat. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until the vegetables turn color and soften.
• Add canned tomatoes, vegetable broth, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, and bay leaf to the pot. Bring to a boil and turn down to simmer.
• Add white beans, kidney beans, green beans, zucchini, and pasta. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until the pasta and vegetables are tender.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• If desired, garnish with parsley.

OLIVE GARDEN MINESTRONE SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots and zucchini to the pot.
• Cook until the vegetables are tender, 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper to taste.
• Add the tomatoes, vegetable broth, tomato paste and Italian seasoning to the pot. Bring to a simmer.
• Add the white beans, kidney beans, green beans and pasta to the pot. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until pasta and vegetables are tender.
• Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the spinach leaves and cook for 2-3 minutes or until wilted.
• Sprinkle the parsley over the soup and serve.

OLIVE GARDEN MINESTRONE SOUP

Steps:

• Slowly saute finely minced onion, celery and carrot in butter until very brown.
• Add peas and beans and about 3 quarts of water.
• Cook slowly until beans are almost done (check garbanzos- they will take the longest) about 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
• Add the remaining vegetables, rice and spices and more water if necessary and cook another hour.
• About 20 minutes before serving time add the macaroni and more water if needed.
• Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
• Serve with crusty garlic bread.

GARDEN MINESTRONE

Steps:

• Microwave onion, garlic, oil, oregano, and red pepper flakes in bowl, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes; transfer to slow cooker.
• Stir broth, tomato sauce, soaked beans, and carrots into slow cooker.
• Cover and cook until beans are tender, 9-11 hours on LOW or 5-7 hours on HIGH.
• Stir in zucchini, chard, and pasta; cover and cook on HIGH until vegetables and pasta are tender, 20-30 minutes.
• Stir in basil; season with salt and pepper to taste; serve with Parmesan cheese and additional olive oil.

MINESTRONE SOUP (COPYCAT OLIVE GARDEN MINESTONE)

Steps:

• Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of a large dutch oven or deep stock pot.
• Add diced onions, chopped celery, carrots and both types of zucchini to the pot and heat everything up on the stove top over medium high heat. Mix everything together and allow it all to cook.
• When the veggies have softened, add garlic, a scoop of tomato paste, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, crushed tomatoes, cannellini beans, black beans, and pasta.
• Add a bay leaf then pour the broth into the pot.
• Mix everything together. Bring the contents of the pot up to a boil and then down to a simmer. Cook everything together until the pasta reaches al dente.
• Remove the bay leaf and the soup is ready to serve! Try serving it with homemade croutons, fresh parsley, and some crushed red pepper.