The ultimate minestrone
8 Servings
Ingredients
| Quantity | Ingredient | |
|---|---|---|
| ¼ | cup | Olive oil |
| 2 | mediums | Carrots; sliced |
| 2 | larges | Stal celery; chopped |
| 1 | medium | Onion; chopped |
| 1 | small | Head savoy or green cabbage; coarsely shredded |
| 6 | Leaves Swiss chard; coarsely shredded | |
| 6 | Leaves kale; coarsely shredded | |
| 8 | ounces | Green beans; trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces |
| 8 | ounces | Potatoes; peeled and cubed, optional |
| 8 | cups | Chicken broth |
| 2 | cans | (14 1/2-oz.) tomatoes; cut up, or 3 cups chopped fresh tomatoes |
| ½ | teaspoon | Pepper |
| 2 | cans | (15-oz.) cans white kidney (cannellini) beans; drained, or 1 1/2 cups dry Great Northern beans, cooked* |
| 1 | medium | Zucchini or yellow squash; quartered lengthwise and sliced |
| ¼ | cup | Snipped fresh basil |
Directions
NOTE:This recipe has evolved from Matt Browns discussions with fellow cooks and from reading Italian cookbooks. He claims that sauteing the vegetables before adding the broth is the secret to great soup flavor In a 6- to 8-quart pot heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add carrots, celery and onion. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add cabbage, Swiss chard, and kale. Cook and stir vegetables about 6 minutes more or till greens are wilted. Add green beans and potatoes, if desired. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more.
Add chicken broth, tomatoes, and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat.
Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in white kidney or Great Northern beans and zucchini or squash. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer soup for 20 minutes more. Stir in snipped basil. Makes 8 main-dish servings (about 16 cups total). *To cook dry beans, rinse beans. In a 4- to 5-quart pot combine rinsed beans and 5 cups cold water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 1 hour.
(Or, omit simmering; soak dry beans in cold water overnight in a covered pot.) Drain beans and rinse. In the same pot combine rinsed beans and 5 cups fresh water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer beans for 1 to 1½ hours or till beans are tender, stirring occasionally.
Nutrition facts per serving: 213 cal., 9 g total fat (1 g sat. fat), 1 mg chol., 1,159 mg sodium, 27 g carbo., 8 g fiber, and 14 g pro. Daily Values: 63% vit A, 55% vit. C, 10% calcium, and 21% iron.
Nutrition tip: To reduce the sodium in this recipe, use reduced-sodium chicken broth and/or tomatoes.
SOURCE: BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS, OCTOBER 1996 Recipe by: Dinner from the Heart Posted to MC-Recipe Digest V1 #991 by creedenites <creedenites@...> on Januday,, ary 08, 1998