Chef John's Minestrone Soup

Discussion in 'Recipes' started by John Brunner, Feb 3, 2021.

  1. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    This hit my Inbox a few days ago and I made it for supper tonight. It's very good.
    Chef John is a well-known internet chef. Lots of his stuff is posted on Allrecipes.

    The only change I might make next time would be to throw a small smoked ham hock or a few smoked pork neck bones into it...but that's how I'm used to making my minestrone. Maybe using bacon instead of pancetta would give it that edge, because pancetta is not smoke-cured. Other than that, this is restaurant-quality. Makes about 10 medium servings. I finished it as directed with olive oil, fresh parsley and fresh parm-reggiano (the cited quantities for these are obviously for the entire recipe, not for a single serving. I just eyeballed it for a single bowl.)

    pdf attached

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    Minestrone Soup Chef Johns

    2 tablespoons olive oil

    3 ounces or more chopped pancetta (or bacon)

    1 onion, diced
    1 cup diced celery (about 3 slender stalks)

    4 cloves garlic, minced

    4 cups chicken broth
    2 cups water, plus more as needed
    1 (28 ounce) can plum tomatoes, crushed fine

    1 cup cranberry beans, shelled (soak dried beans 6-8 hours)
    2 cups chopped cabbage, or more to taste
    1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained & rinsed
    1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
    1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
    2 teaspoons salt

    1 bunch Swiss chard, chopped
    salt and ground black pepper

    ⅔ cup ditalini pasta

    ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
    ¼ cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
    ¼ cup chopped fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley

    Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add pancetta; cook and stir until it begins to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in onions and celery; cook and stir until onions start to turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in minced garlic and cook for another minute.

    Pour chicken broth, water, and plum tomatoes into the pancetta and onion mixture. Bring to a simmer.

    Stir cranberry beans, cabbage, garbanzo beans, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, and 2 teaspoons salt into broth mixture. Bring to a simmer and cook until cranberry beans are tender, adding more water as needed if the soup becomes too thick, about 45 minutes.

    Stir in Swiss chard and simmer until softened, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

    Stir in pasta and increase heat to medium-high and simmer until pasta is tender, about 15 minutes. Ladle into bowls and top with extra virgin olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and Italian parsley.

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    I'm used to putting just about any pasta in my minestrone. Usually I'll break up some spaghetti, or maybe use shell pasta. But I bought the ditalini for this. It's meant for soups. Found it at Food Lion with no problem.

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  2. Susan Paynter

    Susan Paynter Very Well-Known Member
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    Looks delicious, though, I would like to make a whole pot and freeze some of it. Wonder if it freezes well.
     
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    Last edited: Feb 4, 2021
  3. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    I keep forgetting that my normal way of being is to bulk-cook and save for later, while most others don't do that. I've frozen minestrone soups in the past with no problems, and this recipe has similar ingredients.

    Freezing will generally enhance the flavors. The only thing that won't be "fresh" is the little bit of pasta that's in there...but this is not primarily a pasta dish. If I were making this specifically to freeze and I wanted a perfect end product, I would either stop cooking right after I added the pasta (allowing the pasta to finish cooking in the reheating process) or omit the pasta before freezing and add some to each serving so that it fresh-cooks during the reheating process (the amount you add is not really crucial or exacting.) That being said, the pasta only breaks down a little in the freezer, and it's a small addition to the soup, not a main ingredient.

    I know folks could scale down this recipe on their own if they wanted to, but here it is with the ingredients cut in half (now at 5 servings) for those who aren't as "make ahead" as I am (which is probably every normal human being.) I keep my recipes in Word documents, so this was a 2 minute task.

    pdf attached

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    Chef John's Minestrone Soup, Half Recipe
    (5 servings)​


    1 tablespoon olive oil

    2 ounces or more chopped pancetta (or bacon)

    1/2 onion, diced
    1/2 cup diced celery

    2 cloves garlic, minced

    2 cups chicken broth
    1 cup water, plus more as needed
    1 (14.5 ounce) can plum tomatoes, crushed fine
    1/2 cup cranberry beans, shelled (soak dried beans overnight)
    1 cup chopped cabbage, or more to taste
    1/2 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained (or 1 cup dried, soaked overnight)
    1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
    1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
    1 teaspoon salt

    1/2 bunch Swiss chard, chopped
    salt and ground black pepper

    1/3 cup ditalini pasta

    To finish
    2 TB extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
    2 TB finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
    2 TB chopped fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley

    Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add pancetta; cook and stir until it begins to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in onions and celery; cook and stir until onions start to turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in minced garlic and cook for another minute.

    Pour chicken broth, water, and plum tomatoes into the pancetta and onion mixture. Bring to a simmer.

    Stir cranberry beans, cabbage, garbanzo beans, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, and 1 teaspoon salt into broth mixture. Bring to a simmer and cook until cranberry beans are tender, adding more water as needed if the soup becomes too thick, about 45 minutes.

    Stir in Swiss chard and simmer until softened, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

    Stir in pasta and increase heat to medium-high and simmer until pasta is tender, about 15 minutes. Ladle into bowls and top with extra virgin olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and Italian parsley.

    ************************************​
     

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    Last edited: Feb 4, 2021
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  4. Susan Paynter

    Susan Paynter Very Well-Known Member
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    Thanks John, i will make a large quantity, most likely without the pasta and will freeze some of it.
     
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  5. Nancy Hart

    Nancy Hart Veteran Member
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  6. Susan Paynter

    Susan Paynter Very Well-Known Member
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    Oh well Nancy, that's one hell of a pot.:)
     
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  7. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    HE gets it!!!

    Actually, I know why I do this.

    I went to college at night while working full time. Not only could I not afford to eat out every night, I didn't want to...I always preferred home cooking. So weekends were spent doing homework and making that week's meals, which I portioned out and froze using my Dazey Seal-A-Meal (the original non-vacuum food sealer.) I was in that mode for over 5 years.

    I kept the habit through my life, mainly because of being house-poor. When I fired up the stove or the grill, I cooked multiple servings of several dishes so as to maximize the energy costs incurred (yes, I really think this way...I had to while making a house payment on $5/hour wages.)

    This habit has actually expanded since I moved 10 years ago because I now have a larger fridge with a larger bottom freezer AND a small chest freezer...my other house lacked the room. I am resisting the urge to buy a second chest freezer.

    ~The End~
     
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  8. Susan Paynter

    Susan Paynter Very Well-Known Member
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    Although i enjoy cooking and eating i do like to reserve my time in other ways than being fulltime in the kitchen every day of the week. So, I cook large quantities and freeze them in small containers.
     
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  9. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    Yup.

    It's nice to be able to put a good homemade meal on the table by "assembly only" and not "from perpetual scratch." Heck, I make my salads in weekly batches.

    Getting a vacuum seal machine really helped expand on this for me.
     
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  10. Susan Paynter

    Susan Paynter Very Well-Known Member
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    Salads make up a large portion of my meal. We make it on a weekly basis and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge. Stays good for the week. Water based salad items like cucumbers etc. are added individually.
     
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