Date: Sun, 15 Oct 1995 17:21:56 -0400
From: AllenF1986@aol.com
Amy's Minestrone
Just invented this weekend. My husband and I have already had two meals of
this recipe and are looking forward to a third. I have no idea if this
qualifies as authentic minestrone, but it has beans and pasta in a tomato
base, so that's what I'm calling it. I realize there are a lot of
ingredients, but I find that it is necessary to include several different
types and textures of vegetables to get the complex taste that makes this
hearty soup so good. You'll need to put the cannellini beans in the crock
pot in the morning, but finishing the recipe will only take about an hour and
fifteen minutes when you get home from work.
FOR THE BEANS:
One-half gallon fat-free vegetable stock (I make my own on Sunday afternoons
by simmering miscellaneous vegatable trimmings collected in plastic bags in
the freezer over the course of the week along with bay leaves, marjoram,
parsley, and thyme - cook on low heat all day, and strain through a fine
seive, squeezing out the juice from the vegatables).
One-half pound dried cannellini beans
One Bay Leaf
One teaspoon of salt (optional)
Rinse and pick over the beans; place in a sauce pan and cover by 2-3 inches
with hot water. Bring to a boil; boil for five minutes; drain, rinse, drain
again, and place in crock-pot. Add vegatable stock and water to cover by 4-5
inches, bay leaf and salt. Cook on high 7-8 hours (or low 8-10 hours).
TO FINISH THE MINISTRONE:
Two 15-oz cans of recipe-ready tomatoes and their juice
One small can of tomato paste
One and one-half gallons of fat-free vegatable stock (see above)
Two carrots, peeled, halved long-wise and sliced
Two stalks of celery, sliced
Two yellow onions, quartered and sliced
Three cloves of garlic, passed through a garlic press
One tablespoon each dried basil and dried oregano leaves (not ground)
One teaspoon (more or less to taste) dried red pepper flakes
One-half pound fresh spinach leaves, cleaned and torn into small pieces
6 ounces egg-free dried pasta - small shapes like tubetti or shells
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Pour the beans and their juice into a large soup pot; remove the bay leaf if
you can find it. Add all ingredients through the spinach; bring to a boil
and simmer uncovered for thirty minutes. Add the pasta and season to taste
with salt and pepper. Cook until the pasta is done and serve.
kwvegan vegan