Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, sliced into half moons
- 3 ribs celery, chopped
- 1 large potato or turnip, cut into dice size pieces
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 can (14.5 ounces) low salt diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup dried black lentils
- 7 cups vegetable broth
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup small pasta shapes, like shells or stars or whatever
- 5 cups shredded green cabbage or kale
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1/4 cup minced fresh basil
- Ground pepper
Steps
- Grab a large soup pot and heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery and saute until the onion starts to look golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the potato, rosemary, garlic, pepper flakes, and bay leaf. Cook for another 30 seconds to get the garlic going. Add the diced tomatoes and lentils and give it another 30 seconds.
- Now, pour in all the broth and let it come to a simmer. Reduce the heat and let that go at a gentle pace until the lentils are almost cooked but the potato is tender, about 15 minutes. Next, add the salt, pasta, and cabbage (if using kale, don’t add it yet) and keep the pot gently simmering until the pasta is cooked all the way, 5 to 10 minutes, depending on your pasta. (If you are using kale, fold it into the pot after the pasta is all cooked and let that pot simmer for 2 more minutes.)
- Add the vinegar and lemon juice, stir well, and remove from the heat. Fold in the parsley and basil and let the pot sit for a minute or two. Taste to see whatever else it might need, like pepper or more rosemary to taste. Pull out the bay leaf and serve right away.
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