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KneelforAnne -> RE: Betty Crocker, CM style… (8/16/2009 9:12:18 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: CallaFirestormBW
Scarlet,
Since you asked, this is my Grandma Rose's minestrone soup -- straight out of Sicily. It keeps for a week in the fridge, and because there are no potatoes or noodles in it (we made fresh gnocci to go on top), it freezes like a -dream- and tastes fantastic thawed.
Barone Minestrone
1-2 cups (dried) fava or cannelini beans, soaked overnight and rinsed
6-8 cups unsalted meat or vegetable stock (salt will make the beans tough and slow their cooking)
2 oz pancetta (we used to get this inexpensively at a local Italian market, but these days I substitute nitrate/nitrite free bacon)
2 stems fresh rosemary (if you can't get the fresh herbs, ONLY use the bay leaf)
2 bay leaves
1 stem fresh oregano (Oregano, basil, and rosemary adapt very well to growing yourself in windowsill containers!)
***
2 tbsp olive oil (I use olive oil that I've infused with basil and garlic)
20-30 plum tomatoes, seeded, peeled and chopped.
8 cups meat stock (Grandma Rose always used a 3-meat stock... beef, veal, and pork)
or
8 cups vegetable stock (for a veggie version... not as good, in my book, but *shrug*)
2 cups roasted red pepper stock*
1 stalk celery, chopped large
2 carrots, chopped large
4 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
1/2 cup italian parsley, chopped
1/4 cup lemon basil, chopped
1/2 tsp dried oregano OR leaves from 6-8 stems of fresh oregano, finely chopped
1/4 tsp dried rosemary or needles stripped from 3 fresh stems, chopped
1/4 tsp marjoram or 2-3 stems fresh, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 head of chard or 3 cups spinach, chopped
2 zucchini, chopped
2 cups fresh Italian bush or pole beans, cut
salt to taste
red pepper flakes (a pinch makes a nice tang -- 1/4 tsp makes it SPI-CY--1/2 tsp makes it HOT!)
Combine beans, pancetta (bacon) and 6-8 cups of -unsalted- stock in a heavy pan. Bring to a boil and simmer for an hour or so, until beans are tender. Drain and rinse after cooking.
In a crock pot or soup pot, place 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil, tomatoes, onion and garlic. Saute until tomatoes are soft, then mash slightly with the back of your spoon. Add remaining ingredients except for chard (or spinach) and roasted pepper broth. Simmer for 2 hrs, uncovered.
In a separate pan, saute chard in 1/2 tbsp olive oil. Add roasted pepper broth and simmer for 20 minutes. Add to soup and stir to blend. Do NOT bring back to a boil after adding pepper broth and chard.
Serve with grated Romano cheese (yes, I know in America they serve it with Parmesan -- trust me... Romano is MUCH better!!!).
*Roasted Red Pepper Stock
(You can make this and freeze it, but don't bring it to a boil -- the pepper will become bitter instead of staying sweet, thick and rich).
8-10 red bell peppers
(If red bell peppers are exhorbitantly expensive where you are, get green bell peppers and leave them on the window sill to finish ripening. They won't be as tasty as vine-ripened red bells, but they'll be close. We grow our own in containers, and its super easy to let 1/2 the harvest ripen all the way on the bush).
2 cups veal or beef stock
Place red bell peppers on a non-stick foil-lined tray, and roast in a 450 degree oven until skins are blackened OR roast one-by-one over the burner on your stove OR place on the grill until skins are blackened. Place peppers in a plastic bag while still hot, seal the bag, and allow to sit for about 10-15 minutes. Remove from bag and the burned skins slip right off.
Chop skinned and seeded peppers with as much pepper oil as can be saved from the process, and place in a medium saucepan. Add stock, and simmer for 20 minutes. Puree to a thick stock. Store in freezer if not using within 24 hrs.
I'm sorry... someone is going to need to smack me... I can't think of anything but this... *grins*
I bet it just smells like heaven when you cook it.... *sigh*
THANK YOU so very much!!
I really cannot wait to try this... and GOOD LORD! You eat *very* well at your house!!
Can I move in?
LOL
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