Minestrone Soup

At the Volks March today we donated a few cans of soup for the local food pantry. So soup was on our minds and it seemed a little Minestrone was called for. The recipe came in a recent Cook's Illustrated magazine. Two things intrigued me about the recipe. First was the use of white beans. I've been meaning to use some white beans in a recipe and this seemed perfect. Second was the fact that you simmer a hunk of parmesan cheese rind with the beans for about an hour.

Here's the line up.

 Lots of good vegetables.

Mise én place

Render the fat out of the prosciutto

Add the onions, carrots, celery, & zuchinni

After the tough vegetables soften for about 8 or 10 minutes we add the cabbage, red pepper flakes, garlic, and a bit o' salt.

Add the cabbage

 Problem: We want firm vegetables in the soup but we need to boil those beans for almost an hour.
Solution: Reserve the vegetables for later use

Set aside the vegetables for a bit

Beans go on an aggressive simmer for 45 minutes. 

Add the vegetables back in for 15 minutes

Add some chopped basil

 Dinner is served

Dinner!

I think this is a winner! Perfect for a fall day.