Minestrone Today

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In Colorado for the last few days we have been having a bit of a cold spell. The high temperature at my house has been about 12’ in the last three days. There is nothing better than a hearty soup to combat these conditions. I am fortunate in that both my wife and son are very talented soup makers and apply their skills in weather conditions like today.

My son features a different soup each weekday at his busy pizza restaurant during the winter months. One of his soups that I particularly enjoy is his minestrone which convinces many or his customers that there must be some Italian heritage involved, especially since his pizza is also great..
There isn’t any Italian in the family. We don’t dwell on that subject because we don’t want our Italian friends to get upset if they found out that a guy with no Italian background is making the best minestrone they ever tasted. Oops! I’m not sure I should have let that cat out of the bag!

Minestrone from O! Pizza

Ingredients:
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion chopped
2 large potatoes peeled & diced(fine)
1 small cabbage- shredded
Swiss chard-shredded
2 celery ribs chopped
2 cups crushed tomatoes ( organic)
½ head cauliflower separated and sliced
1 can pinto beans drained
8 cups of vegetable stock
1 tsp each of dried-rosemary-oregano-thyme
1 tbsp salt-1/2 tsp black pepper
4 large garlic cloves
4 slices bacon
½ cup orzo

Preparation;
Dice the bacon and place in a large heated saucepan
Crush the garlic and add to the bacon stir together for 1 or 2 minutes
Add 3 tbs olive oil stir together ( 1 minute)
Add onions and potatoes-saute over medium heat till onion is translucent (8 minutes)
Add all vegetables and sauté – stirring for about 2- 3 minutes
Add the vegetable stock-beans-herbs and salt & pepper
Simmer over low heat ( partially covered) till cabbage is tender
In a separate sauce pan boil the orzo(al dente) and when done, set aside

Service:
In a soup dish put a tablespoon or two of the orzo and then add the minestrone to serve.
A crusty Italian bread is the perfect accompaniment to this hearty soup.
Use the remaining olive oil with the bread.

Note: At the restaurant all vegetable scraps from the daily prepping are saved and several times a week are in a big pot making stock. Most home cooks do not have the opportunity to make stock, so be sure that you buy the best stock available to add to this or any soup you are making.