Minestrone soup?

its my favourite...We've had this recipe sitting around for years and finally got around to making it this weekend. (Don't know the source.) It was perfect, actually, for the rainy and cold January weather we've been having.

1 - 1 1/2 cups dried Cannellini or Great Northern Beans

2 ounces salt pork or pancetta

10 to 12 cups beef or chicken broth

1 onion, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 cup loosely packed parsley, chopped

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 head savoy or curly cabbage, sliced

1 potato, diced

2 zucchini, diced

2 carrots, diced

2 cups chopped Italian styled peeled plum tomatoes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Parmesan cheese, grated for garnish

1 Soak beans overnight in cold water. Drain beans, rinse, and place them in a large saucepan or stockpot. Add salt pork or pancetta and 6 cups of broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook gently for about 1 hour.

2 Heat oil in a separate large stockpot. Add chopped vegetables (onion, celery, carrot, garlic, parsley) and sauté gently 5 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Add remaining vegetables and tomatoes. Add remaining 5 cups broth. Simmer for 40 to 50 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

3 Remove salt pork or pancetta from beans. Dice finely. Transfer half of the beans to a food processor or a blender and blend into a paste. Add mashed beans to the vegetables. Add remaining whole beans, broth, and diced pork to vegetables.

4 Simmer 5 minutes longer. Season soup with salt and pepper. Serve with a sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese.

Serves 10-12, easily. (This recipe makes a lot of soup!)

Note

Beans will absorb a great deal of liquid while cooking. Add more broth or water to replace lost liquid if needed, or the beans will stick.

or

MINESTRONE SOUP

3 quarts beef stock

2 c. soaked Great Northern white beans

1/4 c. chopped fresh basil

2 tsp. finely chopped garlic

3 c. meatless spaghetti sauce

2 carrots, finely diced

4 ribs celery, finely diced

1 med. onion, finely diced

1 zucchini, finely diced

2 c. finely diced lean beef

1 lg. potato, finely diced

1/4 c. pepe pasta (very sm. grains of pasta)

3 fresh Italian plum tomatoes, finely diced

Salt & pepper to taste

1/2 bag fresh spinach, washed, blanched & chopped

Bring stock to boil, add soaked beans; simmer until beans are almost tender. Add basil, garlic and spaghetti sauce. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add carrots, celery, onion, zucchini and meat. Simmer until vegetables are almost tender, stirring constantly. Add potato and pasta, stirring until both are cooked. Add tomatoes, simmer until cooked and season soup with salt and pepper to taste. Before serving, stir in spinach and cook briefly.

Serves 15.

Minestrone soup with pesto

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil

40g/1½oz butter

2 large onions, finely chopped

1 leek, halved lengthways and thinly sliced

250g/9oz potatoes, peeled and finely chopped

3 sticks celery, finely chopped

150g/5oz savoy cabbage

2 litres/3pints 10½fl oz beef or vegetable stock

400g/14oz can Italian chopped tomatoes

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp green basil pesto

Method

1. Heat the oil and butter in a large pan. Add onions, leek and potatoes and cook for about five minutes, until starting to soften, stirring from time to time. Add the celery and cook for a few minutes more.

2. Meanwhile cut the half cabbage in quarters. Remove central stalk from cabbage and discard. Cut leaves across the wedge shape in short shreds.

3. Pour stock and can of tomatoes into the pan with the cabbage. Bring to the boil.

4. Season with salt and pepper and gently simmer for about 30 mins.

5. Add pesto for the last 5 mins, and check the seasoning before serving.

Open 2 cans of tomatoes, crush them up. Open a can of haricot or borlotti beans and drain, rinse them under the tap to get the sludge off. Chop an onion, crush or chop 1 or 2 cloves of garlic finely. Put into a large pan, add some chopped up greens (spinach, cabbage, whatever), a pinch of oregano, a spoonful of olive oil. Bring to a good heat and simmer till the greens are cooked, add in some cold cooked pasta, cut into smaller pieces, bring back to a good temperature, stir well and serve, topped with grated parmesan. Gorgeous.

You can add ground beef with the onions and stuff if you want. This is the vegetarian recipe.

When I make homemade minestrone soup I always make a grilled cheese sandwich. I'd get some really good sourdough bread, get three different cheeses I like, butter both sides of bread, add some garlic salt and parmesan cheese on the butter, then grill it so it has a nice crisp like texture. Also what I've done before is take freshly grated parmesan cheese, make silver dollar shape circles on a cookie sheet and bake them until golden and crispy so you have these yummy little cheese chips. Enjoy!

I cook onions, garlic and carrots in a little olive oil. Add a can of crushed tomatoes, frozen spinach and some zucchini squash. I like to shred my squash, but cubes work, too. Then add chicken or beef broth....vegetable if you want. I put oregano, parsley, a bay leaf and other italian spices. Add some pastina (little pasta) or small elbow afterthe soup has cooked and simmered. It's delicious with some grated parmesan on top. If you like, add a can of navy beans (drained) at the end.

Don't forget to remove the bay leaf.

look on foodtv.com.....

they have some great minestrone recipes.......

(or do a yahoo or google search for it, it will turn up some great ones too).

find recipes on www.recipe zaar.com just type in what you looking for