Minestrone Soup

Last Year's Post: Miso-Glazed Sea Bass
Two Years Ago:   Pasta Arrabiata

There comes a time every winter when everyone has a cold or flu, or just needs a warm and nutritious meal.  Minestrone soup is maybe not quite as famous as chicken soup in that category, but it should be.  It's full of nutritious vegetables, tomatoes, beans and pasta and it's absolutely delicious.  I was particularly interested in a recent cooking show where the chef said her 14-year-old daughter (and friends) absolutely love Minestrone; apparently kids will eat vegetables if they're in the right form.

I love soup, but the soups you find in a restaurant or grocery store have appalling amounts of sodium - usually more than is recommended for an entire day.  The solution is to make your own.  Canned vegetables and broths are also high-sodium culprits, so be sure to use the low-sodium or no-salt-added versions and you'll be fine.  You can always add salt as you're cooking or at the table and you'll still be nowhere near what the restaurant version would have contained.

This soup is easy to make but requires quite a bit of chopping.  I wanted to make it on a day where I wasn't going to be home until near dinnertime, so I did the chopping a day in advance and stored everything in plastic containers in the refrigerator.  That probably saved a good half hour so the soup was ready in about 45 minutes which isn't bad for a weeknight.  It's delicious right away, but it also reheats well and freezes well if you have leftovers.  Or, you could give a container of soup to a friend or co-worker who's a little under the weather.  Or just loves soup.

Served with some toasted garlic bread on the side, you've got a very satisfying yet healthy and vegetarian meal.

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Minestrone Soup

Serves 6-8

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 large onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 large carrot, diced

1/3 lb green beans (about 1 ½ cups), trimmed and cut into 1” pieces (or can substitute diced zucchini)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes

1 28-ounce can no-salt-added diced tomatoes

6 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 15-ounce can low-sodium kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup whole-grain elbow pasta (such as Barilla), uncooked

1/3 cup grated or shredded parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or flat-leaf parsley

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds.  Add the celery and carrot and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the green beans, dried oregano and basil, ¾ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper; cook 3 more minutes.

Add the diced and crushed tomatoes and the chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer 10 minutes.  Stir in the kidney beans and dry pasta and cook until the pasta and vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.  Taste and adjust salt if needed.  Ladle into bowls and top with parmesan and basil.