WINTER WARMER - Nani Connie's PERFECT MINESTRONE SOUP

I will be away for a winter's sojourn - dog mushing in northern Minnesota. Back on Monday the 8th of Febuary when I'll blog about my experiences with fine foods in sub-zero temperatures and I'll post some pictures of how I got on with the huskies and other natives up there.

In the mean time, if the thought of minus 5 fahrenheit gives you a chill, try the recipe below to warm yourself through again in a most delectable way! See you all in Feb.

Darren




















Serves 6

3 Large red onions, chopped
4 Celery ribs, chopped
2 Large carrots, chopped
1/3 Cup extra-virgin olive oil
Large handful of Swiss chard
1/2 lb Trimmed french beans
4 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
1lb Fresh vine tomatoes
2 tbls Tomato puree
1/2 lb Fresh peas
1/2 lb Fresh corn kernels
1/4 lb Shell-shaped pasta
7-8 Cups hot water
3 Cups coarsely chopped Savoy cabbage
1 Large piece Parmigiano-Reggiano rind
1/2 lb Choice of beans - borlotti, kidney and lima work well (if time is short use tinned beans)
Serve with extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling, small and extra, fresh-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

Stir-fry french/string beans, onions, celery and carrots in oil in a large pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, while preparing the chard.

Remove stems from the chard and chop them coarsely, reserving the leaves. Stir chard stems and (pre-soaked for 1 hr) borlotti beans into sauteed vegetable mixture with garlic, 1 tsp sea salt and 3/4 tsp pepper and continue simmering vegetables until they start to become tender, about 30-35 minutes.

In a separate pan fry fresh tomatoes for 2-3 minutes, then add tomato paste, stirring constantly, until it starts to caramelize, about another 2 minutes. Stir paste and tomatoes into vegetables and cook, stirring for 2-3 minutes. Add cups of hot water.

Bring to a simmer. Stir in cabbage and Parmesan rind. Simmer, covered, until greens are tender, about 40 minutes.

Now chop chard leaves and stir into soup along with the shell pasta, corn and fresh peas. Simmer, partially covered for about 12-15 minutes.

Discard rind. Season soup with sea salt and fresh ground pepper and serve.

The best thing about this classic Italian dish is that it will keep for days in the fridge and will taste better after each re-heat. If you are meat-stock mad, you can always fry in some chopped pancetta in the early stages but I prefer it as a vegetarian dish.

Serve with a hot thick slice of country rustic or sourdough bread melting with butter or drizzled with sea salt and finest olive oil.