It's always this time of year when we scratch our heads and wonder what to do with the excess squash and other vegetables in our garden. One of the ways is a hearty minestrone soup.
Today's recipe, minestrone soup, is Karen's and is a favorite entrée-style soup. When I say entrée-style, I mean that the soup has enough substance to be a main course.
What I like to do with this minestrone dinner is put together an antipasto platter with sliced meats, cheeses, pepperoncini, grilled asparagus, olives and crusty bread. A tossed green salad is also appropriate.
For the stock
To start, put 12 quarts of cold water in a 12- to 14-quart stock pot. (If you do not have one this large, you can use two pots.) Add roughly chopped onions, five bay leaves, the top half of a bunch of celery (leaves included), five large carrots roughly chopped and one small can of tomato paste. (Do not discard the bottom half of the celery; save it for the actual soup.) Bring to a boil and then simmer for about two hours. Drain and set liquid aside; discard the vegetables.
You can do this days in advance or the day served. If you make the stock a day or two in advance, let the broth cool before refrigerating. A couple hours should be sufficient. If using the day of, there is no need to set aside.
Antipasto
In making the antipasto platter, you want to grill the asparagus a few seconds on each side and set aside. In choosing cheese, I've found the selection at Raley's and Costco to be excellent. As for the pepperoncini and olives, those found at World Market on Topsy Lane and at Trader Joe's are some of the best selections. Karen's and my favorite crusty bread is ciabatta from the Truckee Sourdough Co.
To prepare the bread, slice it half-inch in thickness and place on a baking pan in a 375-degree oven for about 10 minutes, until crisp. Remove it and immediately rub it with finely chopped garlic and a good saturation of olive oil. If you would like, you can also top it with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and finely chopped basil. Place it back in the oven for approximately five minutes, or long enough to melt the cheese.
You can serve the antipasto platter hot or at room temperature. The thing with this platter is that everything goes. You can use a variety of chilled or grilled vegetables, such as cherry tomatoes (there are lots of good varieties on the market these days). The main thing is be creative.
Salad
If you choose to serve a salad, the typical Italian salad will have sliced radish, fresh tomatoes, thinly sliced red onion and fresh-blanched green beans with a light vinaigrette dressing consisting of a touch of basil, two cloves of garlic, a good red wine vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil (use three-quarters oil to one-quarter vinegar). With all of this, it is typical to use romaine lettuce or a combo of romaine and radicchio or leaf endive.
Put the ingredients in a bowl with a handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Toss, and, voila, it is ready.
Wine
My wine recommendation for this meal is either a nice chianti or a Sierra Foothills Barbera. From the Sierra Foothills, try a Youngs Estate Barbera or a Sobon Estate Barbera. As for a chianti, try Chianti Classico, Isole e Olena. Although I have made a recommendation, I don't know what the local wine merchants are carrying so by all means check with our friends at Ben's Liquor and Aloha Wine and Spirits for their selections.
As always enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!
Entree-Style Minestrone
• 1/4 cup olive oil (virgin is fine)
• 4 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 1 cup sweet yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 cup celery, diced
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper (sweet), diced
• 1/4 cup green bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup carrots, sliced into half moons
• 1 cup zucchini, sliced into half moons
• 1 cup fresh green beans, sliced into 1-inch pieces
• 8 quarts vegetable stock
• Two 14-ounce cans organic plum tomatoes (with juice), diced
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 cups sourdough bread cubes, 1 inch diced
• 2 large handfuls or 2 bunches spinach, whole with stems removed
• 1 cup fresh basil, finely chopped (about 3 bunches)
• 1 bunch Italian flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• Two 14-ounce cans white beans or cannellini beans
• 1/2 T. fresh oregano, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
In a 12- to 14-quart soup pot, heated to medium-high, add the olive oil, garlic, onions, celery and the bell peppers. Sauté approximately 10 minutes, or until this mixture turns translucent. At this point, add the vegetable stock and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, cover, and boil for 20 minutes. Add the carrots, zucchini and green beans.
Turn to simmer and continue to cook for another 45 minutes. Add a little salt and pepper to taste and the bread cubes. (I like to add bread cubes to give the soup a nice texture. Although this is not a traditional component of minestrone soup, Italians do use bread in many of their soups, so it is not uncommon.)
Cook for 10 minutes and then add the spinach (I like to have substance in my soup so don't chop the spinach. If the leaves are too big, tear them in half), basil, parsley and beans. Simmer 10 minutes and check the seasoning. Add salt and pepper to taste and the oregano. Serve in soup bowls with Parmesan sprinkled on top.
