Eat your veggies!

Busy Family Minestrone Recipe

By

Connie Goldin

©2010, ©2012, Mom to Madre

I love reading cookbooks for pleasure. I don’t need to try the recipes to enjoy the cookbook. However, many years ago I bought a wonderful cookbook by the famous Italian chef and author, Marcella Hazan. It is called The Classic Italian Cookbook: The art of Italian cooking and the Italian art of eating and it shaped my cooking more than any other cookbook. It is still available today and I recommend it highly. Although I have never made homemade pasta, or some of her more complicated dishes, I adopted many of her techniques in soup and sauce making. Her minestrone, or vegetable soup, became a staple of my cooking. It is so easy to make, keeps well in the refrigerator, and costs little to make.
Once you have a good vegetable soup recipe, you can adapt it in many ways. You can vary the ingredients, puree it and add a little cream, serve it with Parmesan cheese, throw in some broken pasta, or spice it up with red pepper flakes. It is delicious with diced cooked chicken and rice added to it. I often heat up a bowl of the soup in the microwave for a fast and healthy lunch. Marcella Hazan inspired the recipe included here. I have adapted it to suit my tastes, active life, and my imprecise method of cooking. In other words-read the recipe and then make it your own by adding what you and your family like to eat. It is nutritious, inexpensive, easy, and delicious. What could be better in a soup!

Busy Family Minestrone Soup

Preparation and cooking time: 50 minutes
Tools: large soup pot, vegetable peeler or paring knife, large spoon, colander
Ingredients:
1/2 24-ounce jar of spaghetti sauce
1 14-ounce can chicken broth
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 14-ounce can kidney beans
1 9-ounce bag of washed spinach
1 teaspoon of salt (taste and adjust for seasoning at end)
1 large yellow onion- diced
4 large peeled carrots- cut in ½ inch pieces
4 peeled stalks of celery-cut in ½ inch pieces
2 large peeled Russet potatoes- cut bite-sized
1 cup (fist full) fresh green beans- ends cut off, cut in inch pieces
2 zucchinis, cut lengthwise, then cut into ½ inch crescents

Cooking Method:
1. Fill pot with 4 cups water and add salt. Put on stove with medium heat.
2. Add broth, tomatoes, and ½ jar of spaghetti sauce.
3. Add chopped onion, carrots, celery, and potatoes.
4. Bring to boil, lower heat to slow boil and cook for 30 minutes.
5. Add cut zucchini and cook for 5 minutes.
Note. If you want to add broken uncooked pasta pieces, add 2 cups of hot water and pasta at step 5.
6. Add green beans and cook for 5 minutes.
7. Rinse kidney beans and add to soup.
8. Add one- half bag of spinach. Stir. Cover pot. Turn off heat.
9. Taste to correct seasoning.
Ladle into bowls and serve with Parmesan cheese and French bread for a delicious meal.