Italian Vegetable And Bean Soup Food

RIBOLLITA (ITALIAN VEGETABLE/BEAN SOUP)

Steps:

• Start the day before by soaking the beans in plenty of water.
• Drain the beans, cook them in water until soft, about 1 1/2 hour.
• In the meantime, chop all the vegetables and saute the onions, carrots, celery and garlic in the oil.
• Gently fry for about 30 minutes.
• Add broth from the beans + water to make a total of 10 cups.
• Add tomatoes, jalapeno pepper and spinach.
• Add salt and cook on low fire for about 20 minutes.
• Put the beans in the soup and cook on low fire for 40 minutes.
• I does not matter if the soup cooks longer, in fact you can start in the morning and have the soup on the stove the whole day.

ITALIAN VEGETABLE AND BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook for 5-7 minutes until beginning to soften.
• Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, and tomato paste. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the zucchini and green beans. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 2 minutes.
• Add the diced tomatoes, beans, and broth. Bring to a boil and turn down to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes.
• Stir in the spinach until it wilts. Season as needed. Serve with parmesan cheese and fresh basil if desired.

ITALIAN MIXED BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Pick through the dried beans and discard any shrivled or broken beans. Also watch out for tiny stones. You can use any mix of beans you like but my mix tends to inclue equal parts navy beans, pinto beans, and kidney beans.
• Put the beans in a large pot and add water enough to cover the beans by a good 3 inches. Cover and let soak for at least 8 hours or overnight. (alternately you can put the beans in a pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, cover and remove from heat, let stand for an hour. It yields a differnt texture but still yummy).
• Drain beans.
• Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute the onions and garlic until the onion becomes translucent or about 3 minutes. Add the celery and carrots, saute another 2-3 minutes.
• Add the 8 cups of water, bouillon cubes and beans. Bring to a boil. Cover and lower heat to simmer. Simmer for 1 hour and 40 minutes.
• Add lentils, tomatoes, spinach, ground red pepper, oregano, and basil. Cover and simmer 20 minutes more.
• Both beans and lentils should be soft at this point. If they are not let them simmer longer.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.

ITALIAN VEGETABLE SOUP

Steps:

• Gently cook the onion, carrots and celery in the oil in a large saucepan for 20 mins, until soft. Splash in water if they stick. Add the sugar, garlic, purée, herbs and courgettes and cook for 4-5 mins on a medium heat until they brown a little.
• Pour in the beans, tomatoes and stock, then simmer for 20 mins. If you're freezing it, cool and do so now (freeze for up to three months). If not, add half the Parmesan and the pasta and simmer for 6-8 mins until pasta cooked. Sprinkle with basil and remaining Parmesan to serve. If frozen, defrost then re-heat before adding pasta and cheese and continuing as above.