Italian Minestrone Soup
Recipe source: Emmy in her Element
Inspired by food network
Ingredients:
4 cups beef stock
2 cups water
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
2 cans 14.5 oz petite diced tomatoes
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups spinach torn
1 cup zucchini in bite sized pieces
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced sweet onion
1 1/3 cups mini shell pasta
Salt and pepper to taste
Shredded parmesan or Romano cheese to garnish.
For crockpot:
Add beef stock, water, tomatoes, herbs, sugar, garlic, carrots, onion and celery to a crockpot on high heat for about 3 hours or low heat for 5-6 hours. Add beans, spinach, pasta shells and zucchini in last 30-40 minutes to soften. Remove bay leaves before serving. Serve warm and garnish with cheese.
For Stovetop:
Sauté carrots, onion and celery in butter or olive oil until onion is tender. Add stock, water, tomatoes, herbs, sugar, garlic and salt and pepper. About 20 minutes before serving, add beans, spinach, pasta shells and zucchini on medium heat just until zucchini is cooked through and spinach is wilted. Then let set on low heat until served. Remove bay leaves before serving. Garnish with cheese.
Variations:
Add meat: I think this soup would be amazing with Italian sausage. Just pan cook sausage until cooked through and add to pot of soup.
Vegetarian: If you would like this soup to be completely vegetarian, exchange vegetable stock straight across for the beef stock.
Gluten Free: Simply exchange pasta shells for gluten free pasta.
