Minestra Food

MINESTRA: HEALTHY GREENS AND BEANS

Steps:

• Place oil, water and garlic in a very large pot; heat over medium high heat. First add the chopped Savoy cabbage and cover with the lid.
• After about 5 minutes, stir (add the kale if using) and cover again. Let cook for another 5 minutes, then stir once more. You'll start to think that everything won't fit in the pot, but it will.
• Now add the dandelion greens, and continue to cook over medium heat, covered, stirring now and then, for about 10 minutes. Add salt, pepper and the fennel seeds. Check to make sure the liquid has not dried up, if so, add more water.
• The last greens to go in are the spinach, then cook for another 5 minutes or so. Now add the beans and mix well into the minestra. Taste for salt and pepper, and continue to cook for just a few minutes until the beans are heated through, and that's it.
• Serve hot with homemade bread and slices of sweet onion! YUMMY!
• cooked minestra with liquid (if it's too dry, add a little water)
• 3 to 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (for about 4 cups of minestra) be sure to use top quality oil
• stale, crusty Italian bread, torn into bite size pieces
• In a nonstick frying pan over medium heat, put about 2 tablespoonfuls of olive oil, add the minestra and the torn pieces of bread, and drizzle about 1 or 2 more tablespoons of olive oil on top.
• Cook, stirring frequently, until the bread has absorbed the liquid and softened, and everything is heated through. Serve hot, with slices of sweet onion, if desired.

MINESTRA - BEANS AND GREENS SOUP

Steps:

• Pour olive oil into the saucepan or soup pot on the stove and turn the heat to medium.
• Add onion to the heated olive oil, and sauté until the onion is softened and translucent. This process takes 2-3 minutes.
• Add chopped garlic, and sauté for an additional minute until fragrant.
• Add the salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes.
• Add half of the beans to the onion and garlic mixture. Mash the beans. (See video.)
• Add the chopped escarole to the onion, garlic, and mashed bean mixture, and stir well to incorporate the greens.
• Add the remaining beans and broth to the pot, stir well, and bring the mixture up to a boil. Next, turn the heat to medium, cover the pot, and allow the soup to simmer for 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes, turn off the heat. Your soup is ready to serve, and you can ladle it into soup bowls. If you want, you can also grate cheese on top of the soup.
• This soup will stay fresh, refrigerated for 3-4 days. Or you can freeze it for up to 3 months.

MINESTRA

Steps:

• In a soup pot over medium heat, heat the oil.
• Cook garlic, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.
• Add salami (or pepperoni) and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until it begins to render its fat.
• Add the chicken stock and cheese rind (if using).
• Simmer for 15 minutes.
• In a bowl with a fork, mash about 1 cup of the beans, set aside.
• Meanwhile, in a steamer over boiling water, steam the escarole and other greens for 15 minutes.
• Add the escarole, red pepper, and cannellini beans (mashed and whole) to the pot.
• Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
• Add the spinach and cook 5 minutes more or until it wilts.
• Remove the cheese rind,(if using).
• Taste the soup for seasoning and add more dalt and pepper, if needed.
• Ladel into bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan.

MINESTRA

Steps:

• In a deep, large, heavy pot over moderate heat, saute garlic and pancetta in extra-virgin olive oil for 3 minutes. Add onions and cook 1 or 2 minutes longer.
• Add the greens and wilt them down to fit them all in the pot. Add beans, broth, and nutmeg, salt and pepper. Cook over moderate to medium-high heat for 12 minutes, or until greens are no longer bitter. Serve with shaved cheese, bread, and good red wine.

MINESTRA WITH BEEF AND PORK POLPETTE

Steps:

• Heat extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and render a couple of minutes, then add the onions and sliced garlic and potato - if you prefer pasta, add later when you reheat the soup. Season the onions, garlic, and potatoes with salt and pepper and add a bay leaf. Cook to soften, and then add the escarole to the pot and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, cover to wilt. Stir in the cannellini beans and stock plus 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to a rolling simmer.
• Meanwhile, douse bread with milk to soften. Place ground meats in bowl. Season the meat with salt and pepper, fennel, paprika, crushed red pepper, cheese, and parsley. Add the yolk to the bowl, squeeze the milk out of the bread and crumble to add to the meat. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and roll meat into walnut-size balls, then add to soup and poach until cooked through.
• Cool completely and store soup for make-ahead meal. To reheat the soup: Place in a covered pot and bring to a boil, add the pasta to cook to al dente if you prefer the pasta to potato. Serve soup in shallow bowls with shredded cheese on top and an extra drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Crust up some bread in hot oven while soup reheats for mopping.

HEARTY MINESTRA BASE WITH CRANBERRY BEANS, POTATOES, AND PORK

Steps:

• Drain the soaked beans and put them in the pot with the water, potatoes, bay leaves, and peperoncino. Cover, and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally so nothing scorches on the bottom of the pot.
• While the water is heating, make the pestata in the food processor, chopping the bacon, rosemary, and garlic to a fine paste. Scrape every bit into the soup pot. Rinse in hot water the spare ribs, pork hock, or other bony pork, and add it to the pot too.
• When the water is at a full boil, set the cover on ajar; adjust the heat to maintain a steady gentle boiling, and cook for an hour to 1 1/2 hours, until the beans and the potatoes are tender and are beginning to break apart. Skim the fat or residue from the pork now and then, as it collects on the surface.
• Meanwhile, prepare the soffritto. Pour the oil into a small skillet, stir in the onion, and set over medium heat. Cook the onion, stirring, until wilted, about 6 minutes. Crush the tomatoes into bits with your hands, and pour them with all the juices into the skillet. Stir in the 2 teaspoons salt, and simmer rapidly for about 5 minutes, until the juices have reduced a bit. When the beans are tender, pour the tomato mixture into them, dipping the skillet into the soup pot to slosh out every bit, and keep the minestra boiling.
• Cook the minestra for another hour or more, 2 1/2 to 3 hours total, until the volume has reduced to about 4 quarts (about midway up an 8-quart pot, when you take out any bones and meat). If there's too much broth, raise the heat and cook uncovered, but stir frequently to prevent burning. Taste the soup when reduced, and correct seasoning.
• Take some of the base for a finished soup now if you want, or let the whole pot cool. Before using or storing, lift out the pork bones, pick off all the meat, shred it, and stir into the base; pick out the bay leaves and discard. Keep the soup refrigerated for 3 or 4 days, or freeze, in filled and tightly sealed containers, for 4 to 6 months
• I will often add extra pork pieces to the big minestra pot for an hour of so of cooking, then serve the meat as a separate course. If your pot is big enough, you should be able to drop in a pound or more of meat, either bony spare ribs or hocks, or meatier cuts, such as pork butt or country-style ribs, in addition to the ones already cooking with the soup. Italian sausages and kielbasa are also great cooked this way. Wash meat well with hot water before, or you might give it a quick boil before adding to the pot.
• You can cook such main-course meat anytime the minestra is perking away, though it will take on the best flavor after you've added the tomato-onion soffritto and salt. Remove the meat when tender, keep warm until ready, slice, and serve on a platter-moistened with a ladle of delicious minestra broth.
• If you prefer a vegetarian minestra, flavor it during the long cooking with an herb pesto instead of the bacon pestata: in the food processor, chop the garlic and rosemary in 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil, and scrape this into the soup pot as it comes to the boil. Then just follow the recipes for the base and any of the finished minestre.

MINESTRA MARITATA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add dandelion greens and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon or a wire skimmer, transfer greens to a colander to drain. Add rapini to boiling water and cook until soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon or a wire skimmer, transfer rapini to a colander to drain. Add cabbage to boiling water and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes. Drain and set greens aside.
• In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add celery, garlic, bay leaf, and red-pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until celery and garlic are soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally until lightly browned and crisp, about 3 minutes. Stir in greens and both brodos. Let simmer until greens are tender, about 10 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Add meatballs during the last 5 minutes of cooking, if desired.
• Ladle soup into warmed bowls; drizzle with olive oil and serve immediately.