Cooking With Rania: Minestrone
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Rania Harris, of Rania's Catering, is devoting all of January to warm soups and stew recipes to keep you warm during the winter months.
Minestrone
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 1/3 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups) 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 28-ounce diced tomatoes
- 1 - 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 6 – 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth (see note below)
- 1 15-ounce can low-sodium kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- ¾ to 1 cup uncooked elbow pasta (more pasta makes the soup much thicker)
- 1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the celery and carrot and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the green beans, dried oregano and basil, salt and pepper to taste; cook a few more minutes. Add the diced and crushed tomatoes and the 6 cups of the chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in the kidney beans and pasta and cook until the pasta and vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt.
Note: You may have to add more broth to the pot once the pasta cooks as it has the tendency to absorb a great deal of liquid, especially if you add in the entire cup of elbow pasta
Ladle into bowls and top with the parmesan and chopped basil.
