Vegetable Minestrone Soup
My children ran wild through the neighborhoods of Yakima on Halloween, frenetically shuffling from house to house, ringing door bells and shouting the time honored tradition of ‘trick or treat’ into the weary faces of adults passing out candy from the other side of the doorway.
We hit the stage where my kids are old enough to have stamina and grit when it comes to collecting candy but not quite old enough to phase out of the tradition. So I prepped for a long night and an even longer week negotiating candy stashes, sibling arguments over who stole what from who, and the inevitable sugar crash that only comes with Halloween.
While I pilfer my children’s candy stash until just the black licorice and off-brand Werther’s hard candies are left (my love runs deep for a Milky Way), I feel its my obligation to offer a recipe so chalk full of vitamins and nutrients it somehow off-sets the 27 pieces of bite-size candy we will all eventually give in to eating.
Quick sidetone: I received the most entertaining and hilarious email after this recipe ran in the Yakima Herald last week. Apparently a gentlemen who read my column was quite taken aback at my reference to black licorice. He gave me his impassioned opinion on black licorice and I am chagrined and almost convinced to give it another try.
Back to the point, vegetable minestrone soup is surprisingly easy to throw together. Clean out your veggie drawer and throw whatever you have on hand in the pot. Just remember to salt and pepper the mixture each time you add something to the soup. For optimal taste and texture, boil pasta in a separate pot and add it to the soup just before serving. This makes a big pot of soup, so if you’re not planning to feed a crowd (or a gaggle of sugared up kids) consider halving the recipe. This will easily serve 8 to 10 generous servings. Leftovers freeze quite well, so you can always save half for later this winter.
As we round the corner into a new week, I hope there’s a warm bowl of soup and a Milky Way in your future.
Vegetable Minestrone Soup
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion diced
3 large carrots peeled and diced
4 stalks celery diced
3-4 cups mixed vegetables (zucchini, red potato, cauliflower and green beans) diced
1 28-ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes
2 14-ounce cans cannelloni beans drained and rinsed
3 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cloves garlic minced
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
Two shakes red pepper flakes
2 32-ounce boxes vegetable stock
1 cup pasta cooked
Big handful baby spinach
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
In a large dutch oven sauté onion, carrot and celery in olive oil over medium heat until onion begins to soften, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add mixed vegetables to the pot. Stir in tomato paste, garlic, bay leaf, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes. Add in 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and a pinch of black pepper. Stir well to combine.
Add canned tomatoes, cannelloni beans and vegetable stock to the pot. Stir in balsamic vinegar and honey. Add another 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and pinch of black pepper. Turn the heat to a low-simmer and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
In a separate pot, boil pasta in heavily salted water until just tender. Drain pasta from water. Add pasta to soup pot. Turn heat off to soup. Stir in baby spinach. Taste broth to see if it needs more salt. If so, add final 1/2 teaspoon salt and one more pinch of black pepper.