Minestrone

 

This morning my husband had a craving for minestrone- hearty and thick with vegetables, with deep savory flavor.  Perfect way to use up odds and ends of veg we took along on a boat trip last week, most of which were beginning to show their age and were not very inspirational as a side dish on their own. The kitchen smells like fall as it bubbles on the stove.

The list of ingredients (below) is what I used for the batch in the photo.  In reality, this is a "clean out the frig" meal:  use whatever vegetables you have leftover or that are past their peak. 

Because this made a large batch of soup and I planned to freeze some of it, I elected to cook the pasta separately, then put it in the bottom of our bowls and pour the soup over it.  I find pasta that has been frozen is unpleasantly mushy.

MINESTRONE

1/2 lb bulk Italian sausage

1 small onion, diced

4-5 cloves garlic, smashed & minced

2 carrots, diced

1 can cannelli beans, drained & rinsed

1 cup frozen spinach

1/2 fresh green bell pepper, diced

1 cup butternut squash, peeled & cubed

1 1/2 cup Napa cabbage, chopped

1/2 cup frozen green peas

1/2 cup frozen whole kernel corn

1/2 cup frozen green beans

8 fresh basil leaves, chopped

1 Tbl fresh oregano leaves

1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 cups canned petite diced tomatoes

3 cups chicken or vegetable stock, (I use a combination of the two)

For serving: 1 cup cooked penne pasta

Brown the sausage in your soup pot. Remove it to  bowl when it's cooked through.  Saute the onions in the drippings until slightly browned, adding the garlic to the pan for the last minute.  Add all the other ingredients including the cooked sausage to the pot and turn the stove burner to low. Simmer the soup for a minimum of 40 minutes, adjust salt and spices to taste.