All Vegetable Minestrone

All Vegetable Minestrone Soup

There's nothing new about Minestrone soup. This soup is a staple of Italian and Mediterranean cooking, and has been for more than a hundred years. I have read that the soup was originated as a way to utilize garden vegetables and pantry goods to create a cheap dinner that was both healthy and delicious. The ingredient list has to contain tomatoes and pasta at least, but I think the more vegetables you can add, the better it gets.
I had a day off recently, and made this version for dinner. I pretty much cleaned up a bunch of stuff that we had on hand, but I did have to buy some canned tomatoes and cannelini beans. At work, we've been making this soup since the day I started. We usually follow a set recipe that works for us. One of my chefs at work, Joe Rodrigues, makes it the best. I always complain to him that there's too much "stuff" in it and not enough broth, but I think that's what's good about it. My vegan version is based on the version we make at work, only no meat products.
So if you try this recipe, open some Italian wine like a pinot grigio or chianti, play some Frank Sinatra, and get into the history of this soup. It's more than a meal, it's food for the soul. Buon Appetito!

All Vegetable Minestrone Soup

Serving Size : 20

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
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1/4 cup olive oil
2 medium onions -- diced small
8 stalks celery -- diced small
3 carrots peeled and diced
1 green bell pepper -- diced small
1 red bell pepper -- diced small
2 tablespoons garlic -- chopped fine
2 bay leaf
1 medium zucchini -- diced small
2 cans stewed red ripe tomatoes -- coarsely chopped
2 packages vegetable broth, ready-to-serve
8 ounces v-8® vegetable juice
1 can cannelini beans -- drained
8 ounces frozen corn
6 ounces orzo
1 box frozen spinach -- coarsely chopped
sea salt
black pepper
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried basil

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium high heat. Add onions, celery, carrots, and both peppers, and cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are sweated. Add chopped garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more. Add bay leaves, and zucchini and cook for a minute. Add vegetable broth and V-8 or tomato juice and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes.

While soup is simmering, put a small pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil. Cook orzo until "al dente," and drain. Cool off the pasta with cold water, and set aside.

When vegetables begin to soften, add the stewed tomatoes with their juice, and the canned beans. Add frozen corn. Return to a simmer and cook until all the vegetables are cooked. Add the spinach and orzo and stir well. Add additional vegetable stock if you think you need more liquid. Season to taste with sea salt, black pepper,
oregano, and basil. Serve in large bowls with Italian bread.

Yield:
"5 quarts"
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NOTES : This soup can be frozen in batches, but the vegetables do get a little mushy. You can substitute almost any pasta you have on hand; elbows, small penne, ditalini, linguini broken into 2-inch pieces, etc. You can also add mushrooms, summer squash, green beans, or green peas. If you have fresh herbs, fresh basil, oregano, are better than dried.