Minestrone Soup is a delicious and hearty soup that is a great way to use up any fresh veggies you have in the kitchen! This will warm you right up on a cool autumn evening!
I love soup season!
Right around the middle to end of October, I get a feeling that washes over me. The leaves start to change, the weather starts to get crisp. All of the Halloween decorations start to go out. And my mouth begins to salivate. Soup season is back!
There's just something comforting about a hot bowl of soup on a cold night. It brings to mind all of the days we spent playing in the snow, hiking trails to track the wildlife, and sledding at the park. I can't think of a better place to be than curled up with my wife if front of the fireplace, hot bowl of soup resting in front of us, and watching our favorite shows! I imagine that's close to heaven!
Minestrone Soup... what is it?
Minestrone is basically Italian vegetable stew. We Americans took minestrone and turned it into what we know as vegetable stew, but the Italians had it first! The best part about minestrone is that you really aren't limited to what ingredients can go in it! This is a great opportunity to use any leftover veggies that you have in your refrigerator. My recipe is going to give off the basics, and I'll let you know when to add the rest!
How it's made
We're going to start of our minestrone like pretty much every good soup, with a mirepoix, or as the Italians call it, soffritto! (We also used that here!) So, we're going to roughly chop the onions, celery and carrots and sauté them in olive oil. Then we're going to add in some garlic.
At this point, you have a decision to make. If you want to keep this minestrone vegetarian, then you skip adding any meat. If you want to make the soup a little more hearty, this is where you'll add your desired protein. Ground beef can be very good here. You could also use Italian sausage. I would steer clear of any type of thick cut beef (like stew meat) since that will take a long time to cook and will turn your veggies into mush.
Now, we're going to stir in our tomatoes. If you have fresh tomatoes, you can definitely use those, but I typically am using canned diced tomatoes here. We're going to continue sautéing those for a few minutes, then it's time to add the stock. Again, if you want to keep this vegetarian, use a vegetable stock. I used a good chicken stock that I had available. One quart should do it. Then we'll add some water until we have enough broth for the soup! Follow this up with a can of rinsed cannellini beans to be traditional, and we're going to have a fantastic meal!
Finishing up with options
We've now got the soup where we want it. You can leave it at this, and it's going to be amazing soup. But, what's a vegetable soup without more vegetables? It's at this point you would add any extra veggies that you want with your soup. My soup pictured above has just a potato that I needed to use, but traditionally, you'll see green beans, perhaps a bell pepper, mushrooms will also play nice here.
Once your done adding your extra veggies, bring the soup to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook on simmer until the veggies are soft, but still have a bit of bite to them. At this point, we'll stir in our ditalini pasta if you are using it and also any greens you have. I like kale in this soup, but you could also use swiss chard, or even arugula. Cook these until the pasta is al dente and the greens have wilted into the soup. Top the soup with some parmesan cheese for an extra flavor bomb!
Wrapping it up
Minestrone has gotten me through plenty of cold nights in the Midwest! It's filling, warm, and definitely delicious! I know that your family is going to love this as much as mine does!
Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
Main
- 1 large carrot peeled and diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced or crushed
- 2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes
- 1 16 oz can of cannellini or kidney beans
- 1 quart chicken or vegetable stock
- 8 oz fresh greens kale, spinach, swiss chard, arugula
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cups water
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- Salt and pepper to taste
Optional
- 1 ½ cups ditalini pasta
- 1 potato peeled and diced
- 6 oz fresh or 1 cup frozen green beans
- Any other optional vegetables
- 3 oz Italian parsley for plating
- Parmesan cheese to liking for plating
- 8 oz ground beef or Italian sausage
Instructions
- In a stock pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat, heat up olive oil until shimmering
- Add in onions, celery, and carrots and sauté until onions are translucent
- Stir in garlic and cook for no longer than 30 seconds or until fragrant
- *Optional step* If adding in meat, add it here and cook until browned. Drain as much fat as possible
- Add in tomatoes and Italian seasoning. Sauté for roughly 5 minutes
- Pour in stock and water. Adjust seasoning as needed. Add in remaining optional vegetables
- Bring soup to boil and reduce to simmer. Simmer for roughly 20 minutes or until veggies are soft but still have a bite to them
- Stir in pasta if using and greens. Cook until pasta is al dente and greens are wilted
- Serve immediately. Top with Italian parsley and parmesan cheese if desired.
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