Friday, September 11, 2009

Easy Minestrone



As I stood in the pouring rain this morning at 5 am with my two dogs I decided today would definitely be a soup day. After waiting for over 5 minutes for them to do their stuff, soaking wet, I pulled them back inside. It was a waste of time, as once outside they stared at me as if to say, 'why are we outside when our little beds are so warm and cozy?' I understood, yet work was calling and they needed to pee. My reward for surviving the week would be coming home to a warm bowl of minestrone, topped with freshly grated parm.


  • 1 cup of tubetti
  • olive oil
  • 10 cups of chicken stock
  • 1/4 pound pancetta (I used bacon diced up, too lazy to go to store)
  • 8 garlic cloves cut in half
  • 2 small onions diced
  • 1 cup celery
  • 4 to 5 carrots diced
  • 1 stem of rosemary
  • 1 14 oz can cannelini beans, rinsed
  • 1 14 1/2 can diced tomatoes
  • 3 to 4 small diced zucchini
  • 1 large peeled potato diced
  • Grated parm

Cook pasta in salted water, drain. In large pan heat 1/4 cup of olive oil, when hot, add pancetta or in my case bacon, brown for about 3 minutes.(I drained about 3/4 of the bacon grease and oil out of the pan). Add garlic, brown for about 1 minute, add onions, celery and carrots, cook for about 10 minutes. Add rosemary , beans and tomatoes, zucchini , diced potato and stock, cook for 20 to 30 minutes till potatoes are tender. Skim off any foam that forms on top, add cooked pasta. Serve topped with parm. Now take your dogs out in the rain with a smile.

18 comments:

  1. This soup would be perfect for me right now. It is cold and rainy in NJ. Looks fantastic!

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  2. Bookmarking this as I am a soup-o-holic - but there's too much heat right now! Will stock up at Farmer's Market tomorrow for the ingredients. This is MN, the hot air won't last forever! Delicious!

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  3. Fall must be in the air! Minestrone is one of the first soup's that come to mind as soon as the weather cools down. Love it. This soup is satisfying and comforting.

    By the way, I can totally relate to standing outside in the pouring rain with the dog :-)

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  4. This is one of my favorite soup recipes! I can't keep enough of it in the house when it's cold outside. Hope those little puppies enjoy some comfort food too! Thanks for sharing-

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  5. oh, yes...soup is perfect for rainy days! It ain't really rainy here in LA, but I still like my soup! :-)

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  6. What comforting flavors. I want to curl up on the couch with a bowl right now!

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  7. This soup definitely sounds good on this rainy week! Very comforting!

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  8. Beautiful and I'm adding zucchini to my grocery list right now. Thanks for the recipe. I'll be making it today!

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  9. Minestrone is my favorite soup...this looks so delicious!

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  10. The perfect soup to warm you on a cold, damp day! Looks very hearty and delicious!

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  11. I love an end of summer minestrone. The mix of vegetables sounds great!

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  12. Oh my, this is so perfect for those rainy and chili night!

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  13. Minestrone is definitely the way to warm up a cool, rainy day! I tend to shy away from soups at this time of the year (I'll have to eat them to keep warm from Dec - April, after all); but, the summer veg in here make this soup seriously tempting.

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  14. LOL! Poor thing, standing out there in the rain! Makes one glad though that we don't have to do our business out in the rain. :) Thanks for visiting. Have a great weekend.

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  15. Hello darling, thank you for visiting my cottage and for the sweet comment you left behind, much appreciated. I am here at your blog and I must say your blog is delicious, I am now a follower. Please do visit my cottage for tea as I will yours.

    Love & Hugs
    Duchess.

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  16. oh i just love this soup like anything.... great post...

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