Week 20: Summer Minestrone

Usually I'd be a little annoyed by rain in June, but since I need a tan and I am still in the mood for soup, I don't mind it so much. The challenge was to find a hearty, warm summer soup in my cook book, but I found something and added some stuff to make it a satisfying meal on a rainy day. The family loved it, and I'm still eating leftovers even thought the sun finally came out.

Basically this was a minestrone soup with summer veggies but the addition of pesto mixed in really gave it a unique flavor. Also, since I was going for something a little heartier, I added the green beans and wax beans and also the cannelli beans. I also threw in a little extra pasta.

This was my first shot at making a homemade pesto. The recipe actually calls it "pistou" which, I think, the difference is the absence of pine nuts. It was super easy to make; I put the basil, Parmesan and garlic in the food processor and pulsed a few times. I then added the olive oil in a stream and pulsed until the pistou was smooth. I saved it in a small dish to be served in the soup.

The soup was also quick and easy to make. I brought the broth to a boil, added the tomatoes, pasta and onion & cayenne and cooked for 10 minutes. I then added the squash, beans, & green beans and cooked for another 5 minutes. I seasoned with salt and pepper and the soup was good to go!

I served the soup with the pistou on the side and let the family add their own. I added a good couple spoonfuls to mine. The family was a little more reserved, but tried some and really liked it. My only disappointment was that the leftovers soaked up most of the remaining broth in the fridge overnight, so I had to add more broth to eat leftovers the next day.

Looks like the weather is getting more summer-like now, so you will begin to see more cold soups in the upcoming weeks.... stay tuned.

Ingredients
4 medium tomatoes / $2.50 / Farmer's Market
1 pound small yellow and green summer squash / $2.00 / Farmer's Market
1/2 pound green beans & wax beans / $2.00 / Farmer's Market
1 can cannellini beans / $0.89 / Trader Joe's
8 cups vegetable broth / 2 @ $1.99 / 3.98 / Trader Joe's
1 1/2 cup small penne pasta / $0.99 / Trader Joe's
1/2 cup diced red onion / $0.50 / Farmer's Market
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper / from home

Pistou
1/2 cup basil leaves / $1.00 / Farmer's Market
1 teaspoon chopped garlic / from home
3 tablespoons olive oil / from home
6 tablespoons Parmesan cheese / from home

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Servings: 6
Taste: 5 stars
Prep: easy
Cost: $13.86

Week 16: Penne & Aspargus in Parmesan Broth

Given my love for cheese, I've been looking forward to making this soup for weeks. The only thing stopping me was the fact that I'd have to make the broth and track down what I thought was going to be a hard-to-find ingredient. But all-in-all, this soup wasn't too hard to make and eating it was sooooo worth any trouble.

First off, this soup is all about the broth. Luckily, my awesome cookbook gave me an idea on how to doctor up a store bought broth, and it works amazingly. Basically just simmer regular store bought broth with onions, carrots, celery stalks and Italian parsley and thyme for 20 minutes. I even made and extra batch and froze it for future brothy soups.

This soup broth, though, calls for parmesan cheese rinds to add an incredibly interesting flavor to the broth. Not knowing that I could just purchase the rinds, I almost used the back up plan the cookbook offered and spooned in grated parmesan once the soup was ready to serve. I was worried I'd have to buy several full pieces of cheese with rinds in order to have enough to flavor the broth, and that would have cost a fortune. But I figured, I wanted the full effect, so I called up Whole Foods and they said they did sell Parmesan with the rinds (Nob Hill, Trader Joe's and Safeway did not). Once I got to Whole Foods, after walking around the cheese section looking confused but too stubborn to ask, I caught a glimpse of a huge parmesan display with just rinds for sale in a little container. Jackpot! And this helped keep the cost down too! The rinds simmered in the store-bought broth with the veggies and herbs for 20 minutes. I strained the broth and then it was ready to go! The smell was amazing and the broth was delicious enough to drink on its own. Not sure what the effect of just sprinkling in grated parmesan before serving would have been, but I can't imagine it would have been the same. This came out too good to skimp the next time I make it.

To complete the soup I cooked the pasta for 5 minutes less than the package directions. I then added the asparagus and green onions and cooked for a few minutes more. Finally, I added the peas and cooked for another few minutes. While this was happening, I sliced some prosciutto and crisped it in a fry pan until crispy. This can be added with grated parmesan for a garnish. And that's it. Soup's on! This soup is 5 stars all the way. Even my dad, Mr. Meat & Potatoes loved it. AND my dear friend who is less than experimental with his food was pretty impressed too... AND my foody girlfriend Cat came and took some in a tuperware to heat up for her lunch that day. I appreciate the shout out she gave to me on Facebook, but also kinda wish I had kept that last serving for myself. Hahaha.
I can't wait to make this again. Although the broth is intended to be the star of this dish, I did add more pasta and peas than the recipe called for to make more of a hearty meal. I would also increase the asparagus next time too. I will also try a different kind of pasta too because my penne was a little big and hard to eat with a spoon.

The soup was a little pricier per serving than the last few, but considering this was a meal in itself, $26 for 6 servings is a pretty economic meal. Also, I was out of parmesan and ended up not even needing it since the broth was flavorful enough without it, so that can be skipped to cut cost if you don't have it on hand. I served it with a yummy ciabatta bread too!

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6
Taste: 5 stars
Prep: Easy
Cost: $25.84
Nutritionals: calories 242, fat 2 grams (per serving)


Ingredients
8 cups chicken broth / $2.49 / Smart & Final
2 onions / from home
2 celery stalks / $2.00 / Farmer's Market
2 medium carrots / 6 for $2.00 / Farmer's Market
2 Italian parsley sprigs $1.00 per bunch / Farmers' market
6-8 ounces parmesan cheese rinds /$3.96 / Whole Food's
2-3 cups uncoooked penne pasta / $0.99 / Trader Joe's
1 pound asparagus / $5 / Farmer's Market
1 bunch green onions / $1 / Farmer's Market
1-2 cups frozen peas (defrosted) / From home
5 ounces prosciutto (for garnish) / $3.99/ Trader Joe's
Grated parmesan cheese (for garnish) / $3.41.Trader Joe's



Feeding the troops soup!
A-bay loves his soup!