Quick Minestrone Soup Food

SIMPLE ITALIAN MINESTRONE SOUP

Steps:

• In a large Dutch oven, heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add onions, carrots and celery. Raise heat to medium-high, if you need to, and cook, tossing regularly, until the veggies soften a bit (about 5 minutes or so). Add the garlic and cook another minute, tossing regularly.
• Add the zucchini or yellow squash and green beans. Season with paprika, rosemary, and a generous pinch of kosher salt and pepper. Toss to combine.
• Now add the crushed tomatoes, broth, fresh thyme, bay leaf and Parmesan rind (if using.) Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and partially cover the pot. Let simmer for about 20 minutes or so.
• Uncover the pot and add the kidney beans. Cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.
• Finally, Stir in the parsley and fresh basil. And, if serving immediately, stir in the cooked pasta and simmer ever so briefly till the pasta is warmed through; do not overcook. (See Cook's Tip #2)
• Remove the cheese rind and bay leaf. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking. Serve the minestrone hot in dinner bowls with a sprinkle of grated Parmesan (optional.)

QUICK MINESTRONE SOUP

Steps:

• Heat oil in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then cook onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 3 minutes. Add kale and sauté, stirring, 1 minute. Add frozen vegetables, tomatoes with juice, pasta, broth, water, salt, and pepper and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender and pasta is al dente, about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, transfer half of beans to a wide shallow bowl and coarsely mash with a fork or a potato masher, then stir mashed and whole beans into soup and simmer, stirring occasionally, until soup is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

SUPER QUICK MINESTRONE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente. Drain and transfer the pasta to a baking sheet. Toss the pasta with a little olive oil to prevent sticking.
• In a large saucepan over medium heat, warm the chicken stock.
• In another large saucepan over high heat, heat 1/4 cup oil. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the pancetta and cook until it begins to brown, 3 to 4 minutes, turning occasionally. Add the garlic and cook until it begins to brown, about 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Lower the heat to medium and add the onions, celery, and carrots.
• Cook until the vegetables are soft, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent browning. Add the chopped herbs. Raise the heat to high. Add the beans, tomatoes, zucchini, and potatoes. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Then bring it down to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender, 12 to 15 minutes, skimming any foam off the top of the soup. Season generously with pepper. Add salt, to taste. Just a few minutes before serving, add the cooked tubetti pasta. Serve warm with Parmesan and olive oil passed at the table.
• Cooking notes: Add the cooked pasta just before serving. If it sits in the soup too long, it develops a flabby texture. Tubetti (little hollow tubes) are the classic pasta for minestrone, but you could substitute another small shape of pasta.

QUICK AND EASY MINESTRONE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add the corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until it starts to brown slightly, about 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste, rosemary and oregano and cook, stirring constantly, until the tomato paste begins to darken in color, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth until the paste is smooth and incorporated into the liquid.
• Add the whole can of diced tomatoes (including the liquid), and bring the mixture to a boil. Stir in the pasta, the white beans and reserved liquid and the soy sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the pasta is al dente, 7 to 8 minutes, stirring in the green beans during the last 2 minutes of cooking. Serve in individual bowls with a little oil drizzled on top.

MINESTRONE SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the celery and carrot and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the green beans, dried oregano and basil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste; cook 3 more minutes.
• Add the diced and crushed tomatoes and the chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in the kidney beans and pasta and cook until the pasta and vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt. Ladle into bowls and top with the parmesan and chopped basil.

CONTEST-WINNING EASY MINESTRONE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, saute the carrots, celery and onion in oil and butter until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer., Stir in the broth, tomato sauce, beans, chickpeas, tomatoes, cabbage, basil, parsley, oregano and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add macaroni; cook, uncovered, 6-8 minutes or until macaroni and vegetables are tender., Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with cheese. Freeze option: Before adding cheese, freeze cooled soup in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a saucepan, stirring occasionally and adding a little broth or water if necessary.

MINESTRONE

Steps:

• Soak the beans overnight in water to cover. Discard the water. Add fresh water to cover and simmer until the beans are soft, about 30 to 45 minutes. Allow them to cool in their water.
• In a large, heavy casserole, soften the onion, garlic and leeks in the olive oil. Add the celery, carrots, zucchini, string beans and potato and saute for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomatoes.
• Meanwhile, bring the chicken stock to a boil in a separate pan. Add to the soup ingredients and simmer gently for 1 1/2 hours covered. The soup should be thick, not watery. If it is too watery, uncover and cook until thickened.
• Add the beans and cook for 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Before serving, sprinkle the soup with parsley. Serve with a small jug of extra virgin olive oil on the side and a bowl of grated Parmesan cheese. The oil and the cheese are added separately.

QUICK MINESTRONE SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and prociutto, and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes or until the onion softens and is light golden. Add the potatoes, carrots, zucchini and celery, and cook stirring for 1 minute.
• Stir in the tomatoes and stock, increase heat to high and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Stir in the pasta and simmer, uncovered, for a further 10 minutes or until the pasta is al dente.
• Stir in the beans, parsley, salt and pepper. Cook, uncovered, for 1-2 minutes or until the beans are heated through. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Ladle the soup into serving bowls, sprinkle with the parmesan and serve with the crusty bread.
• VARIATION:.
• Kidney beans and vegetable soup: Replace the prosciutto with 3 bacon rashers. Add 45 grams finely shredded cabbage to the mixture with the tomatoes and stock. Replace the borlotti beans with 1 x 425 grams can red kidney beans. Omit the parmesan and top each bowl of soup with 1 teaspoon prepared pesto.