Minestrone

By amaliana

Minestrone- which means "big soup"- is designed to fill you up. This classic version, packed with veggies and pasta, does just that!

Ingredients

• 8 ounces dried or canned cranberry beans or 1 can (15.5 ounces) cannelloni beans
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3/4 pound green leaf vegetables(spinach, cabbage, Swiss chard), 12 cups
• 2 zucchini, cubed
• 1 potato, peeled, cubed
• 1 carrot cubed
• 8 ounces short pasta, such as small shells
• 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• Olive oil and grated Parmesan cheese

Details

Servings 6
Preparation time 25mins
Cooking time 85mins

Preparation

Step 1

If using dried beans, soak overnight in cold water. Drain beans; cook in water, 5 minutes. Drain and rinse, then cook in water according to package directions until tender. (Note: Do not salt water until beans are tender, or skins will toughen.) If using canned beans, drain and rinse in cold water before adding soup.

In large pot, cook onion in oil over medium heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in green leaf vegetables, zucchini, potato and carrot; cook 5 minutes. Pour in cooked beans and water(about 10 cups) to cover. Simmer gently about 1 hour, stirring often, topping off with additional water as necessary to maintain enough liquid to cook the vegetables.

When vegetables are cooked, add pasta. Season with salt and pepper. Seve as soon as pasta is tender. Dress each serving with oil and Parmesan.