Minestrone Soup
Minestrone is the best kind of soup.
Don't even try to argue with me. Facts are facts.
I've spent the past few years trying to find the exact right recipe that makes the perfect minestrone. I do believe I have finally found it. It was right in front of my face on All Recipes, which, THE HECK? How does that even happen? We won't even talk about how many trial and error attempts I had at trying to come up with a recipe on my own.
ANYWAY, this recipe works well, so I thought I would share it. I made some minor modifications to it because obviously. That is a thing I always do.
Minestrone Soup
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cups celery, chopped
2 cups carrots, chopped
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 jar tomato sauce (any kind -- even Ragu and such, but plain/traditional works best, I think)
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can green beans, drained
2 cups baby spinach, rinsed
2 medium zucchini, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup seashell pasta
Shredded parmesan to taste
1. Toss the oil in a large stock pot and heat it over medium-low heat. Throw in the garlic and sauté it for 2-3 minutes.
2. Throw the carrots and celery in the stock pot with the garlic and sauté it all for 2-3 minutes.
3. Throw the onion in the stock pot and sauté it with all of the rest of the stuff for 2-3 minutes.
4. Throw the broth, water, and tomato sauce in the pot and bring everything to a boil, stirring frequently.
5. Reduce heat to low and add the kidney beans, green beans, spinach, zucchini, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Simmer over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes.
6. In a separate pot, boil water so you can cook the seashell pasta. It turns out that cooking it separately is the magic trick necessary to keep it from getting too soggy. WHO KNEW?
7. Once the seashell pasta is done, scoop some into a bowl and then scoop some soup over top. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over top and TAH-DAH! Minestrone soup! It tastes a lot like Olive Garden's, but doesn't come with the obnoxious wait for a table and all of that stuff.
Recipe
Reader Comments (2)
this sounds fabulous! and easy enough for someone like me to do.
except i need more info. can you better describe "jar tomato sauce" for me? you aren't saying can of paste, you are saying jar of sauce and i have no clue what to buy. thanks!
I've been trying and semi-failing minestrone soup for a few years too, so I'm going to give this one a whirl. Thanks!