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Classic Minestrone

SUBMITTED BY: Michelle Chen PHOTO BY: MOLLE888

"This famous Italian soup has been much imitated around the world with very different results. The homemade version is a delicious revelation and is also extremely healthy, as it has pasta, beans and fresh vegetables. Try to make the minestrone a day early and refrigerate as this improves the flavors. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley."

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PREP TIME	15 Min
COOK TIME	1 Hr
READY IN	1 Hr 15 Min

SERVINGS

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Servings
USMETRIC

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 leek, sliced
2 carrots, chopped
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
4 ounces green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 1/2 quarts vegetable stock
1 pound chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, with liquid
1/4 cup elbow macaroni
salt and ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan, over medium heat. Add leek, carrots, zucchini, green beans and celery. Cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook for 15 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally.
Stir in the stock, tomatoes and thyme. Bring to a boil, then replace the lid, and reduce heat to low; simmer gently for 30 minutes.
Stir in the cannellini beans with liquid and pasta. Simmer for an additional 10 minutes, or until pasta is al dente. Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.

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REVIEWS

Reviewed on Dec. 22, 2003 by UNCLEBEN1980

I was expecting this to be a lot better, judging by all the positive reviews. It was rather... MORE

Reviewed on Jan. 29, 2003 by SCOOBYQUEEN

This recipe is awesome. My husband is a vegetarian so I'm always looking for new and good... MORE

Reviewed on Dec. 2, 2005 by Katy

Full Review

The reviewer gave this recipe 4 stars. This recipe averages a 0 star rating.

Katy
Dec. 2, 2005

I made this soup for a family gathering. I scaled it to serve 20 people and it turned out very well. I'm a strict vegetarian so I had to make something good to impress the meat-eaters of the group. . . all of them asked for the recipe. I tried to take a lot of advice from the user reviews before cooking and made some changes: 1. The scaled recipe called for 5 leaks. I subsituted one leak for an onion. So if using the current scale, probably half and onion and one and a half leak would suffice. 2. I sauteed one clove of garlic in the olive oil before adding any vegetables. Again, with scaling, you might not need that much. 3. I couldn't find any cannellini beans so I used kidney beans. My italain stepmom laughed at me, but it turned out good, so she stopped laughing after she tasted it. 4. I did let it sit in the fridge overnight before serving. It really added a LOT of flavor. 5. I think the stock you choose is probably the most important part of this recipe. I was fortunate enough to have really good vegetable stock. Can't remember the brand or I would share it, sorry. 6. I didn't put as much thyme in as called for. I served it with another recipe from allrecipe's: Great Garlic Bread, submitted by Noelle. Good stuff.

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12 users found this review helpful

I made this soup for a family gathering. I scaled it to serve 20 people and it turned out... MORE

Reviewed on Dec. 12, 2005 by TXANCA

Once you taste this soup all others will pale in comparison. (i.e resturant, can, etc) The... MORE

Reviewed on Sep. 30, 2007 by ktivers

This is a great recipe. Like others I added a bit more... spinach, carrots, zucchini, and... MORE

Reviewed on Jan. 29, 2003 by KDCKNIT

Great soup -- everyone who tries it demands the recipe. Improved by adding a clove of garlic... MORE

Reviewed on Jan. 29, 2003 by Moni_Stout

Wonderful! I added potatoes. Next time I will also add cabbage. MORE

Reviewed on Oct. 6, 2006 by Ellen G.

Full Review

Ellen G.
Oct. 6, 2006

This is a fantastic fail-safe recipe, you really can't go wrong no matter how you make it or how you change it! Unfortunately, I had to give it only 4 stars because my husband didn't like it as much as me-- his complaint was similar to all the other reviews, "it's kinda bland". I think it really comes down to your personal tastes and how you like your minestrone soup-- THIS SOUP HAS A LIGHT BROTH AND IS HEAVY ON THE VEGGIES. If, you're like me and you like your minestrone like that, then this is the soup for you! Changes I made to adapt to our own tastes: sauteed veggies in one crushed clove of garlic; I used closer to 2 quarts of vegatable broth since the noodles do soak up a lot of the liquid (can adjust broth to your own tastes); used one 14.5oz can of diced tomotoes stewed in garlic, oregano, & basil for more flavor and added one fresh diced tomoato; used about 1/2 tsp. dried thyme since I didn't have fresh thyme laying around (originally used full tsp. but found it overwhelming and had to siphon off some while it was cooking); and since my hubby likes noodles in his soup, I used 1 cup whole wheat noodles (they look white like regular pasta when cooked so no one is the wiser) and cooked them before adding them to the soup so they wouldn't suck up so much of the liquid (they came out to about 2 cups once cooked). Overall, it turned out quite balanced-- you get a little bit of everything you throw in there with each scoop.

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6 users found this review helpful

This is a fantastic fail-safe recipe, you really can't go wrong no matter how you make it or... MORE

Reviewed on Feb. 1, 2007 by lanem1972

Read the reviews and added more canned tomatoes as well as garlic. Yummy! Will make it again. MORE

Reviewed on Dec. 28, 2006 by Melissa Bell

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