One of my favorite things about winter is homemade soup. They’re easy to make, you can toss pretty much anything in them and with vegetable-based ones, you can leave them in the refrigerator and eat them for days. Add a hearty salad and bread and you have a complete meal. I recently challenged myself – it was a weeknight and I didn’t want to be in the kitchen more than one hour including clean up – to make a nutritious soup with only what I had in my kitchen. “Minestrone My Way” was born.
With relish, I put to use these ingredients that were lying around and had no obvious or near-term plans for consumption:
- - a 28 oz. can of plum tomatoes with basil I had accidentally bought a while ago
- - I think the last of my kale from the Sport Hill Farm CSA that I froze in September
- - the last cup of a bag of Trader Joe’s Harvest Grains Blend (Israeli style couscous, orzo, baby garbanzo beans and red quinoa)
- - my last can of cannellini (white Italian kidney) beans
Substitutions can easily be made and I have listed them in the ingredients below. I usually heat the broth and water to speed up cooking time. I am positive this soup freezes well. This is probably not even close to a minestrone but that’s what it reminded me of. As we ate our “Minestrone My Way,” a mixed salad dressed with a quick homemade balsamic vinaigrette and crusty, cheesy garlic bread, my husband and I looked at each other and both shouted out at the same time, “When you’re here, you’re family!” We’re apparently starring in our very own Olive Garden commercial.
Minestrone My Way
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped (substitute with red or white onion)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tsp. dried oregano (substitute Italian seasoning or basil)
1 28 oz. can plum tomatoes with basil, cut into bite-size pieces and juices reserve (substitute with plain or Italian diced tomatoes to reduce chopping)
1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (substitute kidney beans)
1 cup Trader Joe’s Harvest Grains Blend (substitute with pastina, orzo, any small-shaped pasta or even spaghetti broken into bite-size pieces)
1/2 bunch kale, washed, stems removed and cut into ribbons or bite-size pieces (substitute with 6 oz. bag baby spinach)
32 oz. (4 cups) vegetable broth (substitute with water)
2 cups water
A few dashes of Tabasco (optional), salt and pepper to taste
Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven on medium. Once hot, add onions and saute until soft and translucent, 6-7 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add oregano, crushing it in your hand as you drop it in the pot (this releases the flavor of the herb). Add the chopped tomatoes and reserved juices, stir and raise heat to high. Add broth and water. Once boiling, add Harvest Grains Blend (or pasta) and kale. Reduce to medium, cover and cook for 10 minutes. (If using spinach, add spinach at the end of the 10 minutes because it will cook much faster than kale.) Add beans and stir gently, taking care not to break the beans. Add Tabasco (if using), salt and pepper to taste.