And I think our soup day landed me with the perfect concoction. There isn't a classic recipe for minestrone, which is why I like it so much. You can add beans, special veggies, your favorite spices, and so on, but as long as your version has lots of vegetables and some noodles, you can call it minestrone. And so I do.
There are three things essential to this version of minestrone:
the broth, the kind of noodles, and the parmesan on top.
Chicken left on the bone makes the broth especially tasty; add a splash of red cooking wine, a sprinkle of red chili flakes, and some essential herbs, and you've stepped away from regular old chicken broth. The result: a subtle flavor that soothes your throat and your taste buds.
Pick up a bag of home-style egg noodles, and you'll have enough hearty noodles for at least three batches of soup. All other noodles are wimpy compared to these. Don't let your soup be wimpy.
I have a fetish with parmesan cheese. Minestrone just isn't minestrone to me without sprinkling on the good stuff. Try it. You'll like it.
Besides those three things, go to town with the veggies. My recipe says to choose three vegetables for your soup. Feel free to experiment to find which ones you prefer, or just throw in whichever vegetables you have in the fridge. You never know when you'll land on a new favorite blend. My preferred combination includes carrots, green beans, and cabbage.
I had never added cabbage to a soup before, but I got a whole head of it in my Bountiful Basket last week so I threw some in. It was delightful. If you're worried about the cabbage being slimy in your soup, make sure you chop it thinly and add it in with the noodles about 15 minutes before serving.
Here's to many more soup days to come!
Minestrone Soup
Inspired by Williams-Sonoma and the little red house
6 – 8 cups chicken stock / water
5 – 6 chicken wings or thighs (any chicken on the bone, really)
splash of red cooking wine
salt and pepper
Choose three:
carrots
6 – 8 cups chicken stock / water
5 – 6 chicken wings or thighs (any chicken on the bone, really)
splash of red cooking wine
generous sprinkles of dried basil, oregano, and thyme
tiny sprinkle of red pepper flakessalt and pepper
Choose three:
carrots
cabbage
green beans
winter squash
white kidney beans
celery
potatoes
winter squash
white kidney beans
celery
potatoes
diced tomatoes (fresh or canned with juices)
home-style egg noodles, cut up into small pieces
parmesan, parmesan, parmesan
Bring chicken stock to a low boil a big soup pot. Add chicken, cooking wine, and seasonings, then let simmer together while you cut up vegetables into spoon-size pieces. Stir chopped vegetables into soup (including tomatoes) and let simmer on medium-low for as long as you can stand to wait (at least 30 minutes). Add the noodles about 15 minutes before serving.
Top with plenty of parmesan and eat with a very large spoon.