Nana’s Minestrone Soup    

Time: 60 minutes

Servings: 4 – 6

This recipe is a modified version of how my great-grandmother made this soup. I modified it to fit in a 60 minute time frame as opposed to the hours it would take to make it her way. Also, I used red cabbage for this recipe, this only came about because the grocery store was out of regular cabbage. It proved to be a happy accident; the violet color of the cooked cabbage adds more color to the pallet of the soup.

Ingredients

1 (32. ounce) box of beef broth (or vegetable for vegan or vegetarians) 1?2 cup dry great northern beans or 1/3 can of Great Northern Beans* 1 1?2 cups shredded cabbage

1 medium sized potato; peeled and cubed

1 medium sized carrot, chopped

1 small zucchini, chopped into 1?4” chunks

1 small onion, chopped

8 ounces of diced tomatoes (do not drain juice)

1?2 can of green beans (drained), or 4 1?2 ounces of frozen green beans 1 small clove garlic, minced or crushed

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried basil

4 oz. small sized pasta

*Dry beans are prepared differently for the soup than the canned beans. In the recipe I will use the dry beans; instructions for the canned beans will also be in the same body of text.

Rinse dry beans; put in one-quart saucepan with two cups of water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for two minutes. Remove beans from heat, cover and let stand one hour, DO NOT DRAIN. (You also can let beans soak overnight.)

In Dutch oven combine beef broth, salt and dried basil and put over medium heat. (If you used canned beans, add these in now with two cups of water mixed with liquid from the can of beans.) Add the cabbage, potato, carrot and zucchini; turn heat to high to bring to boil. Add onion, tomatoes, drained green beans (or frozen) and garlic. After soup reaches boiling point reduce heat, cover and simmer soup until dry beans are done soaking, or about 35-45 minutes is needed.

Ten minutes before beans are done, or after the soup has simmered for 35 minutes, add four ounces of small sized pasta; bring to boil. If using dry beans, add in beans and water from the one-quart saucepan.

Quick Tip

his colorful soup is rich in colorful vegetables. If you desire a more filling meal try adding ravoili, (breaded, or plain,) and meat/cheese or vegetable/cheese filling of choice as the main dish. Tortolini also would be a viable option. Top the tortolini or ravoili with maranara or pesto sauce to complement the vegetables in the soup.