Author Daniel Bellino MINESTRONE Recipe

MINESTRONE GENOVESE

alla BELLINO

MINESTRONE GENOVESE

 

 Mixed Vegetable Soup of Genoa 

Minestrone may very well be the most popular of all Italian soups. It was first created as a way of using leftover vegetables from the previous night's dinner, so as not to let those vegetables or anything go to waste. Minestrone can be made from any variety of vegetables, most popular are: onions, potatoes, carrots, zucchini, tomatoes, and peas. Add a little salt, pepper, olive oil, and garlic, cook and right there you have the basic Minestrone Soup. The main thing that makes Minestrone Genovese different from this or other basic Minestrone soups, is the addition when serving the Minestrone, adding a dollop of freshly made Basil Pesto, Genoa’s most famous food item of all, that just about everybody loves. 

 MINESTRONE GENOVESE 

 Ingredients : 

 5 tablespoons best quality Italian Olive Oil 

1 medium Onion, peeled and chopped 

2 Carrots, peeled and cut to medium dice 

2 medium Zucchini, washed and diced ½” dice 

5 plum Tomatoes, fresh or canned, chopped 

2 large Potatoes, peeled and cut to ¾” dice 

2 Bay Leaves 

2 cloves Garlic, peeled and chopped 

7 cups water 

1 cup frozen Peas 

2 cups fresh Spinach, washed and chopped 

¼ pound Stellini Pastina, or Ditalini 

1 teaspoon each of Salt & ground Black Pepper 

1 - 15 ounce can Cannellini Beans 

3 tablespoons Basil Pesto (preceding Recipe) 

Preparation :

Add the Olive Oil and chopped Onions to a large stainless steel pot.  

Turn the heat on to medium and cook for 4 minutes while stirring. Lower heat to low, and add the garlic. Cook on low heat for 3 minutes. 

Add the Tomatoes. Sprinkle a little salt & black pepper over the tomatoes. 

Cook on medium heat for 4 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon. 

Add the Carrots and Zucchini and stir. Add the Potatoes, the water, and Bay Leaves, Slat, & Black Pepper. Turn heat to high and bring all to the boil. Once the water is boiling, lower heat so the soup is at a low simmer. Let cook for 25-30 minutes. 

While the soup is simmering, cook the pasta in a separate pot in boiling salted water, according to directions on the package. Strain the pasta in a colander and let cool. 

After the soup has been cooking for 25 minutes, add the Cannellini Beans, and cook on medium heat for 4 minutes. 

Add the Spinach and cook for 3 minutes. Add the cooked Pasta and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes.  

The soup is done. 

To serve, fill a soup bowl with the Minestrone. Add a small dollop of Basil Pesto and serve. 

Enjoy! 

This Recipe is complements from author Daniel Bellino It is excerpted from his forthcoming cookbook, which he is currently working on. The working title of the book is “Rome Venice Pizza Pasta and ???” Note : This is what is known as a “working title” and it may or may not be the Title of the Book, once published.

 … “Thanks, Daniel Bellino” …

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Minestrone Soup Recipe Daniel Bellino

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RECIPE : MINESTORNE GENOVESE

Ingredients :

1/4 pound Cannellini or Borlotti (cranberry) beans, soaked overnight

3 tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil 1/2 cup chopped onion 2 leeks, washed and chopped, white part only 1 medium eggplant (1 pound), peeled and diced 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced 2 ribs celery, sliced 2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced 2 medium tomatoes, diced 2 cups hot chicken broth 4 cups hot water, plus extra if needed 1 cup chopped raw spinach 1 cup diced zucchini 1 cup shredded green cabbage 1/4 pound vermicelli or stelline pasta 3 tablespoons Basil Pesto Salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION 

Drain the beans from the overnight soaking water, place them in a pot, cover with water, cook about 30 minutes or until still quite al dente, and set aside.

In a large pot, heat the oil. Add the onion, leeks, eggplant, carrots, celery and potatoes and sauté for about 8 minutes, or until the vegetables just begin to exude their juices.

Add the tomatoes, hot broth, hot water, beans and additional hot water to just cover the mixture. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, and cook covered for about 30 minutes.

Add the spinach, zucchini, cabbage and pasta and cook another 20 minutes or until the pasta is al dente. Stir in the pesto. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

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BASIL PESTO for MINESTORNE GENOVESE and to Sauce the PASTA of Your Choice

Who doesn't Love Pesto ? Well I guess there may be some, but for the most part, just about everyone loves this wonderful no-cook Italian Sauce that highlights some of Italy's most iconic ingredients which include ; fresh garden Basil, Italian Olive Oil, garlic, Pignoli Nuts, and Parmigiano Reggiano . In Genoa and Liguria where Pesto was first born and is famous for there, there are primarily two ways to use this wonderful cold sauce, number one is to coat any one of a variety of pasta shapes to make a tasty pasta dish of Maccheroni & Pesto or pesto's second most important use is as the main flavor enhancer of Minestrone Genovese, the greatest vegetable soup of all.

RECIPE : BASIL PESTO

• 3/4 cup pine nuts (6 ounces)

• 5 cups basil leaves, chilled and very dry

• 6 small garlic cloves, quartered

• 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for sealing

• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Put the garlic in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Toss in the nuts, Parmesan, if using, pepper and salt and chop until the nuts are finely crushed, about 1 minute. Add the basil, oil and lemon juice and pulse for 1 minute more, until smooth. 

2. To store, transfer the pesto to a sterilized jar with a tight-fitting lid. Pour a thin layer of olive oil on top of the pesto, seal and refrigerate up to 10 days or freeze up to 3 months.

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