Recipe: Minestrone Soup

Minestrone - means "big soup" in Italian and is named for the many ingredients in it.  There are really no set rules on what should go into a minestrone soup, but it is generally tomato based, with lots of vegetables and usually some pasta.  Here is my version, and it's a perfect soup to use up the vegetables slowly going soft at the bottom of fridge drawers!  Bonus: the soup can be made in 30 min.


Serves 8 generously (and less than 250* calories per serving!)

Ingredients:

-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
-1 large onion, diced
-5 cloves of garlic, minced
-2 stalks of celery diced
-1 large carrot, diced
-1/4 lb of green beans, trimmed and cut into 1" pieces
-1/4 lb of sugar snap peas, trimmed and cut into 1" pieces
-1/2 cup of dry white wine
-one 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
-1 cup of of crushed tomatoes
-6 cups of chicken stock
-one 19 oz can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
-1/2 cup of whole wheat orzo (or other small pasta)
-1 tsp dried dill
-1 tsp dried oregano
-1 tsp of sugar
-1 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp black pepper
-freshly grated Parmesan cheese
-fresh basil

• Heat olive oil in a large pot, over medium high heat.  Add onions, sugar, and salt.  Cook until softened, stirring occasionally.
• Add celery, carrots and garlic and cook until they begin to softened.  Do not burn garlic.  Turn down heat to medium if necessary.
• Add white wine, scraping brown bits from bottom of pan.
• Add dill, oregano, beans, snap peas, diced and crushed tomatoes, and chicken stock.  Bring to a boil.
• When boiling, add pasta and cover with a lid and reduce heat to low.  Simmer for 10 min.
• Add kidney beans and simmer for another 10 min.
• Adjust seasoning with salt and/or pepper to taste.
• Serve with a sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and torn fresh basil leaves.

* Estimate based on minestrone soups in general.