Minestrone With Cabbage And Spinach Recipes

Steps:

• In a large saucepan coated with cooking spray, saute onion and garlic until tender. Add the broth, beans, tomatoes, carrots, macaroni and oregano. Cook until vegetables and macaroni are tender, about 20 minutes. , Stir in spinach; bring to a boil. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5-10 minutes.

Steps:

• Brown sausage in skillet until fully cooked; drain excess grease.
• In a large stock pot add beef broth, water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, kidney beans, celery, carrots, onion salt, garlic salt, and Italian seasoning. Simmer until veggies become tender, about 20-30 minutes.
• In a separate pot, cook pasta according to directions. When noodles are done, add to soup and mix in cooked sausage.
• Top with shredded Parmesan cheese and serve.

Steps:

• Drain the chick peas and set aside. Heat the oil over medium heat in a heavy soup pot and add the onion, carrot, and celery. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often, until the mixture is fragrant and the vegetables tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in half the minced garlic and cook, stirring, for another minute or so, until the garlic begins to smell fragrant. Add the tomatoes and their liquid and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 10 minutes, until the tomatoes have cooked down a bit. Add the cabbage, stir together for a minute, then add the drained chick peas, 2 quarts water, and the bouquet garni. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer 1 hour, or until the beans are just about tender.
• Add the remaining garlic and salt to taste, cover and continue to simmer another 30 minutes to an hour, until the beans are thoroughly cooked and the soup very fragrant. Add a cup more water if it seems too thick. Add pepper, taste and adjust salt. Remove the bouquet garni.
• Add the pasta and cook until the pasta is cooked al dente, 5 to 10 minutes. Serve, passing the Parmesan at the table for sprinkling.

Steps:

• Prepare: 1 cup dried cannellini or borlotti beans (see page 78). This will yield 2 1/2 to 3 cups of cooked beans. Reserve the cooking liquid.
• Heat in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat: 1/4 cup olive oil.
• Add: 1 large onion, finely chopped, 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped.
• Cook for 15 minutes, or until tender. Add: 4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped, 5 thyme sprigs, 1 bay leaf, 2 teaspoons salt.
• Cook for 5 minutes longer. Add, and bring to a boil: 3 cups water.
• When boiling, add: 1 small leek, diced, 1/2 pound green beans, cut into 1-inch lengths.
• Cook for 5 minutes, then add: 2 medium zucchini, cut into small dice, 2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped.
• Cook for 15 minutes. Taste for salt and adjust as necessary. Add the cooked beans, along with: 1 cup bean cooking liquid, 2 cups spinach leaves, coarsely chopped (about 1 pound).
• Cook for 5 minutes. If the soup is too thick, add more bean cooking liquid. Remove the bay leaf. Serve in bowls, each one garnished with: 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon or more grated Parmesan cheese.
• Fall Minestrone with Kale and Butternut Squash
• Follow the recipe, but add 2 finely chopped celery stalks to the soffritto and cook to a rich golden brown. Instead of thyme, add about 1/2 teaspoon chopped rosemary and 1 teaspoon chopped sage with the garlic. Borlotti or cranberry beans can be substituted for the cannellini beans. Omit the green beans, zucchini, fresh tomatoes, and spinach, and use instead 1 bunch kale, stemmed, washed, and chopped; 1 small can of tomatoes, drained and chopped; and 1/2 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes (about 2 cups). Cook the tomatoes and kale with the soffritto for 5 minutes, add the water, and cook for 15 minutes. Add the squash and continue cooking until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes, before adding the cooked beans.
• Winter Minestrone with Turnips, Potatoes, and Cabbage
• Follow the recipe, but to the soffritto add 2 celery stalks, chopped fine, and cook to a rich golden brown. Cut up 1/2 head cabbage into bite-size pieces and cook until tender in salted boiling water. For the green beans, zucchini, and tomatoes, substitute 1 pound turnips and 1/2 pound yellow potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces. If the turnips have fresh greens attached, stem, wash, and chop them and add them to the soup with the turnips and potatoes. Towards the end of the cooking, add the beans and, instead of the spinach, the cooked cabbage.
• Spring Minestrone with Peas and Asparagus
• Instead of carrot in the soffritto, use 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces. Do not let it brown. If green garlic is available, use 2 or 3 stalks, trimmed and chopped, instead of garlic cloves. Use 2 leeks instead of one. Add the liquid (half water, half broth, if possible), bring to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes. Omit the green beans, zucchini, and tomatoes. Substitute 1 cup shelled peas (from 1 pound in the pod) and 1/2 pound asparagus, trimmed and sliced on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick pieces. Add with the beans and cook for 5 minutes before adding the spinach. If not serving this soup right away, cool it down quickly in an ice bath so the asparagus does not lose its bright green color.

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, saute the carrots, celery and onion in oil and butter until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer., Stir in the broth, tomato sauce, beans, chickpeas, tomatoes, cabbage, basil, parsley, oregano and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add macaroni; cook, uncovered, 6-8 minutes or until macaroni and vegetables are tender., Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with cheese. Freeze option: Before adding cheese, freeze cooled soup in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a saucepan, stirring occasionally and adding a little broth or water if necessary.