Arrrgh!!!

Ya know, every cook worth her salt has a minestrone recipe she prefers. Minestrone is one of the most forgiving soups around, and I prefer it to vegetable soup because the seasoning is more interesting, and the floaters have more variety. One of the best Minestrones I've ever had is a baked version with an incredibly beefy broth and mozerella baked over the top.

I'll give you a basic recipe, and then I'll tell you how mine has morphed from it.

1 cup dried kidney beans or white beans
2 cups bouillon
6 cups water
1 large onion chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 large carrots, finely diced
3 stalks celery with leaves, diced
1 cup diced raw potatoes
1 cup cooked macaroni
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup cooked tomatoes

Okay....this is how I made it this evening, when I was pressed for time:

1 can white beans (or kidney beans), drained and rinsed
5 cans of College Inn Beef broth (low fat, low sodium if desired)
1 large onion, sliced in half and then slivered vertically
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup julienned carrots crosscut into 1" lengths
1-2 stalks of celery with leaves, diced
1/2 a red pepper sliced into narrow strips and diced
1 large potato peeled and diced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 pkg. fresh pasta: 3 cheese ravioli in mini size
(or 1 cup cooked miniature pasta shells)
1 TEASPOON salt.....cut way back on the original
several twists of fresh ground pepper.
1 can recipe ready diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon dried basil, crumbled
fresh grated Parmesan (optional)

Put the rinsed beans, Bouillon and diced tomatoes into a large stockpot and bring to a boil. Heat the olive oil (I happen to like Colavita brand, but you can use whatever suits your taste) and saute the veggies until they have wilted, but not browned. Add the veggies, salt, pepper, and basil to the broth, return the soup to a boil and then reduce the heat to simmer for 30 minutes. Add the macaroni and simmer for another 15 minutes. If you prefer a thinner soup, add more broth. Serve with Parmesan sprinkled over the top.

There are some considerations. First, if you are a purist, you can soak the beans overnight. Most of the beans have instructions for this, but generally you rinse the beans and pick out the rocks, and then cover the beans with a couple of inches of cold water. Cover the pot and let it sit all night, and then drain the beans when you are ready to start the soup. You can also follow the same steps in the morning, but boil the beans for 3-5 minutes and let them stand for an a hour. Again, drain the water off the beans before preceeding. I prefer Great Northern beans, but you can use any variety you like, or even mix several types together.

We choose to use the Buitoni mini ravioli as our pasta. It makes a slightly heartier soup, and must feel more Italian to the men in my family. Besides, the shell macaroni becomes rather shapeless when it's over cooked. If you choose to use dry pasta, be sure to cook it first, or it will absorb all the broth and dry out your soup.

Use fresh ground pepper, and grate your Parmesan fresh. Don't use pre-grated Parmesan; it's much more flavorful if you grate it just before using.

I also cut back on the salt in my soup. I figure that each person can salt to taste, and most of the older recipes call for way too much salt for today's palate.

Make this soup personal. You can vary the ingredients to suit your own taste, or change them to take advantage of summer's bounty. I have a summer and a winter version of this soup. Enjoy!