a Mighty Minestrone soup

The story: Well to be perfectly frank there is not a whole lot of story behind this particular soup. The general recipe is an emulation of this terrific Italian restaurant's soup, Gusto, which is relatively close to me. The main reason I go to this place is for their spectacular eggplant dishes, of which I can't think of anyplace making better, but the bread and the soup that also comes with the meal is great. The recipe is pretty simple as these things go, though at the time of the making of it I didn't quite have everything I needed, it still turned out well. Sadly for many the height of this popular dish is at the Olive Garden, but as I'm sure more than a few might agree that Olive Garden is to Italian as French Fries are to France. As a side note, while the soup largely freezes well, when it comes to defrosting it does sometimes turn the noodles to mush.

*Image taken from Flikr

The Dish: Minestrone soup

5 cups of water
1 cup of vegetable stock
1/2 cup of carrots (sliced thinly)
1 can of diced tomatoes with the juices
1-2 fresh tomatoes
1 small potato (cubed)
3/4 cup of mushrooms
1 can of white kidney beans
1/2 of a medium onion (chopped fine)
2-3 tablespoons of tomato paste
1/4 cup of organic ketchup (more if you want a richer soup)
1/2 cup of dry macaroni
2-3 teaspoons of red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon of fresh ground sea salt
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
fresh basil to taste
fresh rosemary to taste

Cooking of this dish is quite simple, like most soups. Bring the water and the veggie stock to a boil and then simply add all of the vegetables. The only exception to this would be the potato. The preparation for this is a bit different. First peel the potato and then microwave for 4 minutes or so. This will really help soften it up for the soup. Add the somewhat cooked potato at the same time as the other veggies. Allow this to cook for 10-15 minutes and then add the tomato paste and the ketchup. After this is well mixed into the soup, add the macaroni and let it cook in the soup. Add the salt and pepper, and then the vinegar. Finally add fresh herbs. You might want to add a small amount of corn starch mixed with water into it, if you prefer a thicker soup. Make sure that the macaroni is a little chewy when you serve it, as it gives the soup more texture.

Add a bit of Parmesan Cheese and serve with well toasted fresh Italian bread.


Eat and enjoy!!