Friday, February 19, 2010

Minestrone

Whenever I think of minestrone, I have a memory from some 20-odd+ years ago, back when Dunkin' Donuts made its first foray into the non-donut world. Looking to expand into the lunch market, they offered soups, and we found ourselves in the Horseheads, NY Dunkin', looking for an alternative to the other fast food options en route. As I ordered the minestrone, the waitress looked at me as if I had strange things coming out of my head, and I finally had to point to the board so that she could see I really was ordering something from the menu. "Oh, you mean mine-strone?" She was incredulous at my pronunciation of "Min-est-roney", and seemed to think we were saying it that way to mock her. To this day, when my son and I refer to this easy and versatile soup with each other, we call it "mine-strone".

Yesterday's kitchen project was to take the carcasses of 3 chickens and turn them into stock. In addition to the chicken, some odds and ends from the refrigerator, including a cut onion (including the skin), some celery, carrots, parsley stems and some remaining sauce left from a chicken cacciatore made last week, seasoned with bay leaf, salt and black pepper. Four quarts went into the freezer, 3 of them with meat, and one with only broth. The remaining 1.5 quarts was the basis for a delicious minestrone, not a classic recipe, but one to include yet more things that needed using up.


Saute in a few tablespoons of olive oil:
1 medium onion
1 celery stalk and/or a handful of celery leaves

If you have any bacon, pancetta, or pork bits on hand, 1 small piece is enough to add a lot of flavor. Add a couple of cloves of chopped garlic toward the end, and do not allow it to brown.

Add a 1 lb. can of diced tomatoes in juice, or its equivalent in fresh tomatoes, and 6 cups or so of chicken stock with meat (optional - this can be a great vegan dish with vegetable stock), and 2 cans of your favorite beans, drained and rinsed. I used garbanzos and canellini beans.

You'll need some green vegetables, and zucchini is the classic addition. I had none on hand, so used a large handful of fresh spinach leaves and about a cup of frozen haricots verts that I chopped into 1-inch pieces. If you like, you can add a small amount (1 tablespoon or so) of Italian cheese such as Parmesan or adagio to the pot.

Now you can see what else you want to use up. Cabbage is a classic addition, and I had a small amount of sauerkraut that needed to be used, so I tried it. The tartness was absorbed into the food during cooking, and it came out quite good. I also had leftover corn, and added that.

Add about 2 cups of water, about 1-1/2 tsp crushed oregano, some freshly ground black pepper, and salt to taste. If you use commercial broth or added cheese, you probably won't need any.

Separately, cook 1/2 lb. of small pasta until al dente. I like small shells, but elbows, rings or ditalini work just fine. Drain pasta and cover in room-temperature water until ready to serve.

To serve, drain pasta and put into bowls. Ladle soup on top, and grate some Romano or Parmesan cheese on top (optional). Serve with some good, hearty bread. Enjoy.

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