Gluten Free Northern Italian Autumn Minestrone Food

GLUTEN-FREE NORTHERN ITALIAN AUTUMN MINESTRONE

Steps:

• Place cranberry beans into a large container and cover with several inches of cool water; let soak, 8 hours to overnight. Drain.
• Shred carrot, yellow onion, celery, and red pepper in a food processor to create a sofrito mixture.
• Heat oil in a 7-quart pressure cooker over medium-high heat. Add sofrito mixture and saute until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add soaked beans, potatoes, diced carrots, zucchini, pumpkin, and diced onion. Cook and stir until warmed through, 3 to 5 minutes more. Add oregano, rosemary, and bay leaf. Stir well to coat vegetables with oil and seasonings.
• Add enough broth to cover vegetables by 1 inch. Close the pressure cooker lid and bring up to pressure, about 10 minutes. Cook an additional 10 minutes from the first whistle.
• Allow pressure to release naturally and remove lid, about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust salt if necessary. Add additional broth to allow for cooking the pasta. Bring to a boil and add pasta. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Add more boiling broth if needed during cooking.
• Ladle soup into bowls and top with minced hot pepper and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

VEGGIE-PACKED AUTUMN MINESTRONE

Steps:

• In a large stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook until no longer pink and just turning brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the celery, carrots and onions and saute until translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the rosemary, tomato paste and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the stock, tomatoes, beans and bay leaf and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 40 minutes.
• Add the sweet potatoes and zucchini and simmer until cooked al dente, about 10 minutes more.
• Place 1/2 cup of baby spinach at the bottom of each serving bowl and ladle on a portion of bubbling hot soup. The heat from the soup will wilt the spinach perfectly. Serve with some freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and a squeeze of fresh lemon.

GLUTEN-FREE NORTHERN ITALIAN AUTUMN MINESTRONE

Steps:

• Place cranberry beans into a large container and cover with several inches of cool water; let soak, 8 hours to overnight. Drain.
• Shred carrot, yellow onion, celery, and red pepper in a food processor to create a sofrito mixture.
• Heat oil in a 7-quart pressure cooker over medium-high heat. Add sofrito mixture and saute until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add soaked beans, potatoes, diced carrots, zucchini, pumpkin, and diced onion. Cook and stir until warmed through, 3 to 5 minutes more. Add oregano, rosemary, and bay leaf. Stir well to coat vegetables with oil and seasonings.
• Add enough broth to cover vegetables by 1 inch. Close the pressure cooker lid and bring up to pressure, about 10 minutes. Cook an additional 10 minutes from the first whistle.
• Allow pressure to release naturally and remove lid, about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust salt if necessary. Add additional broth to allow for cooking the pasta. Bring to a boil and add pasta. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Add more boiling broth if needed during cooking.
• Ladle soup into bowls and top with minced hot pepper and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

GENOVESE MINESTRONE (NO TOMATOES)

Steps:

• Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a dutch oven. Add garlic, onions, celery and carrots and sauté until onions begin to soften.
• Add broth, wine, black and green beans, spinach, squash, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes. Add in pesto and adjust salt to your liking.
• If making ahead, simply stop at this point, then reheat the vegetable mixture and continue with the recipe.
• While vegetables are cooking, sauté pancetta until crisp. Reserve rendered fat to add to the vegetables if you wish. Cook the pasta according to package directions and stir in to the vegetables.
• To serve, ladle soup into bowls and top with the pancetta and parmesan.