Hearty Minestrone Soup

By [e-mail]

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 C dried white beans, soaked overnight & drained
• 3 T olive oil
• 2 oz. finely diced pancetta
• 2 medium minced shallots
• 2 large finely diced celery ribs,
• 1 medium finely diced onion
• 1 large finely diced carrot
• 1/2 fennel bulb, cored & diced
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 t crushed red pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 T toamto paste
• 1 14oz can chopped plum tomatoes
• 1 qt. chicken stock
• Salt & pepper
• 1 C baby arugula
• 1/2 C Italian parsley
• 1 T lemon juice

Details

Servings 4
Cooking time 33mins

Preparation

Step 1

In pot cover beans with 2" water & bring to boil. Simmer over lo heat til tender, @ 2 hrs; add water to keep beans covered. Drain & reserve cooking liquid.
In another pot, heat 2 T oil. Add pancetta & cook over mod heat til crisp, 4 min. Add shallots, celery, onion, carrot & fennel; cook til softened. Add garlic, crushed pepper & bay leaves & cook, stirring til fragrant. Add tomato paste & cook, stirring 2 min. Stir in tomatoes & broth; bring to a boil. Simmer over lo heat 1 hr. Add beans & enough cooking liquid to thin out soup. Discard bay leaves; season with salt & pepper.
In bowl, toss arugula & parsley with lemon juice & remaining olive oil. Season with salt & pepper. Serve soup in bowls; top with salad
475 cal.