Servings: will feed a small army, but freezes well.
In honor of the New Year, and clean fridges, I offer the following. It is a true minestrone (which literally means "Big Soup" in Italian). The length of this recipe belies its simplicity:
1 lb Italian sausages, pref. hot ones
(vegetarians can use veggie sausage or omit it entirely,
and add a generous pinch of hot red pepper flakes)
4 - 5 good sized yellow onions, diced
a lot of garlic, you decide how much, peeled and chopped
half a head of celery, pref. with the leaves attached, chopped
a pound or so of carrots, diced
some parsnips, if you have them, peeled and diced (if not, its no big deal)
half a head of Savoy cabbage, cut into thin ribbons
(I hate cabbage as a rule, but it is great in small doses in a minestrone)
1 pkg chopped frozen spinach
1 small can tomato paste
(my grandmother would be appalled, as use of tomato paste was akin to harlotry in my family,
but it adds a heartiness and I never use it in my tomato sauce)
1 small can diced tomatoes
chicken or vegetable stock -- about 2.5 quarts
I use the ready made, low salt kind in the box, when I don't have time to make my own,
which is often these days)
2 cups red wine, cheap but still drinkable
1 tbsp each chopped fresh or dried rosemary, thyme, and oregano
1 pound dried beans -- I like roman beans,
or use three cans of whatever you like most, please drain and rinse them.
Soak dried beans overnight. Drain, rinse, cover with new water and cook with a sprig of rosemary until tender but not mushy (if you have a pressure cooker, this can be accomplished in about 6 minutes, otherwise its more like 90). If using dried beans, skip to next step. While the beans are cooking:
Remove sausage from casings and brown in some olive oil in a large soup pot. When browned remove to a plate. Pour off all but 2 tbsp of drippings, and add garlic, celery, carrots, onions, parsnips if using. Sauté for about 5 minutes, then cover and sweat the veggies on a med. heat for at least 25 minutes. Check occasionally to make sure nothing is burning. Add broth, tomatoes, tomato paste, 1 cup of the wine, stock and herbs.
Drink remaining cup of wine while soup simmers 1 hour. Midway through the simmering process, add cabbage and spinach. Just before serving, add beans and heat through. Correct for salt and pepper. For a really thick soup, puree half the beans in a processor prior to adding them to the soup. Sometimes I do this, sometimes not.
The hallmark of a good minestrone is when the soup ladle can stand up on its own in the pot.
Serve with ditalini, mini-penne, small shells. It is most elegant to swirl a bit of homemade or store bought pesto into each bowl before bringing them to the table. Pass parmesan or pecorino romano separately.
Please, for the love of God, do not use the processed cheese in the green can!!
Carolyn
(12/30/00)
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