Whitewater Minestrone

I’ve been working my way through the Whitewater Cooks cookbook, and I’m loving everything I make.  I love a soup that is a meal in a bowl, with lots of veggies and some protein, and of course lots of flavour.  This one is perfect, and I enjoyed the leftovers in my lunch all week.  You know it’s good when you can eat it for many days in a row!

This is a large recipe, enough to feed eight, or two for several days.

What you need:

4 slices bacon, cut into small pieces

1 tablespoon butter (olive oil to make it dairy-free)

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 carrots, diced

1 large onion, diced

1 leek, cut in half, then sliced thinly

3 cups shredded green cabbage (I used savoy)

1 small potato, peeled and diced

4 cups chicken stock

2 cups beef stock

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup red wine

5 tablespoons parsley

2 teaspoons dried oregano

3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

1 teaspoon black pepper

salt to taste

1-14 oz tin kidney beans, rinsed

1 small can cherry tomatoes (or a few fresh tomatoes)

1/2 cup small pasta (I used Christmas tree shaped pasta because that’s all I had, but you can used macaroni or orzo, or whatever you have)-optional, or substitute    with gluten-free of you need to

parmesan rind (if you have it – I had one, so I threw it in while the soup cooked, and pulled it out before serving.  I didn’t even put parmesan on top)

parmesan to garnish

(the recipe also called for twice as much potato, butter, and a zucchini)

What you do:

1. Fry the bacon in a large pot.  When it is cooked but not crisp, remove and drain it on paper towels.  Remove the bacon fat from the pan.

2. Add the butter, garlic, carrots, onion and leeks to the pot.  Sauté until the onions are translucent.

3. Add the cabbage, potato, stocks, wine beans, canned tomatoes and tomato paste. Bring this to a boil, then reduce the heat and add the oregano, 2 tablespoons of parsley, salt and pepper. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.

4.  Add the pasta and cook until it is al dente.

5. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.  Add the rest of the parsley and the basil.

Serve with parmesan, if you wish.

I didn’t freeze any of this soup because I don’t like potato in soups when it has thawed; I find that it just falls apart, and I don’t like the texture after freezing.