It’s Official. Soup Season!

Time to ward off the chill. Make soup.

Today’s post a compendium of past blog posts featuring soup.  Photos will be familiar if you’ve followed since the blog started.

minestorne-ingredients-still-life

 

the rinds of cheese (see Soup Bones above) are key to this Minestrone.

From the BEST RECIPE COOKBOOK of by the editor’s of COOK’S ILLUSTRATED  Minestrone recipe

2 small leek washed thoroughly, white and light green sliced thin crosswise

2 medium carrots peeled and cut small dice

2 small onions peeled and small dice

2 medium celery stalks trimmed and cut small dice

1 medium russet potato peeled and medium dice

1 medium zucchini trimmed and medium dice

3 c stemmed spinach leaves cut in thin strips

1 can (28 oz)  whole tomatoes packed in juice, drained and chopped

1 Parmesan cheese rind about 5×2 inches

1 can cannellini beans drained and rinsed, added last 5 minutes

ground black pepper

at end add 1/4 c basil pesto or 1 T rosemary mixed with 1 teaspoon minced garlic and extra- virgin olive oil

Bring vegetables tomatoes and 8 cups of water, cheese rind and 1 teaspoon of salt to a boil in a big soup kettle or pot.

Reduce hear to medium low simmer uncovered, stir occasionally,until vegetables are tender but still hold their shape about an hour.

Add beans and cook just until heated through about 5 minutes.  Remove pot from heat.

Remove and discard cheese rind. Stir in pesto or Rosemary mixture if desired and adjust seasonings adding pepper or more salt if necessary. Ladle into bowls and serve immediately.

If you want to add pasta be sure to cook separately, drain and put in soup bowl, then ladle soup over it so it doesn’t suck up all the broth.

Do you have a favorite soup you make when the weather changes? Maybe you are firing up a pot of chili or stew.

Minestrone Ingredients Still Life

One time Laura sent me tips on how to photograph food. I should have read it more carefully. It is not easy to make it look tasty and inviting. I am at a point in my life where I lay out all the ingredients for a recipe before I start making it. You want to know you aren’t missing something crucial. The phone rings, you’re listening to the radio, you lose count. At least with it all spread out and ready you can doublecheck you added everything. Today was soup making day. I made a double batch but did each one in a single soup pot as I never think doubling in one pot works the best. The key to this Best Recipe is the addition of the Parmigiano Cheese Rind to boil up with the vegetables. It really makes the broth delicious. This recipe is total veg and I don’t add the pasta in the soup pot as it soaks up all the liquid. You can make ditalini and put it in the soup bowl and ladle the hot soup on top. I followed the recipe to the letter, slicing the leeks just so. And there is no such thing as inexpensive Parmesan. I cut the rind in half. The cannellini beans go in the last 5 minutes and I used canned. The recipe is from The Best Recipe cookbook(1999 edition) by the Editors of the Cooks Illustrated Magazine (page 28) or click here for their recipe for Hearty Minestrone. There are charts of other vegetables to use but broccoli is considered too strong for the soup and overpowering. And the reason it is called the Best Recipe is because they test all the recipes for a single dish and make it 100 different ways- with vegetable broth, chicken broth and the water with the wonderful soup rind- and they describe the pros and cons of each method and or addition. It’s good reading, about how and why they conclude they have found the BEST recipe! And I see there is a NEW Best Recipe out now. Yum!

Went to the Giant Eagle early this morning