A good Minestrone Soup can compete with ANY full dinner! With all the elements of your basic nutritional chart, this soup has it all and the flavor to back up that first sentence to boot. There is a local restaurant I have grown up with that leads more than a few cooks in my area to strive to perfect Minestrone soup… I have to say, this does it for me… and there is one secret ingredient I don’t think it could do without!
Venus Di Milo is the restaurant my parents held their wedding reception. It’s where my Dad had one of his very first jobs as a bus boy. And it is where countless wedding, 1st communion and birthday celebrations have been held over time. They have a very good reputation for having the best Minestrone Soup anywhere. People order it to go by the bucket full! It’s gotten to the point that people around here don’t even refer to it as Minestrone anymore, but rather, Venus Di Milo Soup. This of course started my journey in figuring out just how they do it. And this recipe comes pretty darn close!
Let me show you how I do it!
Chop some onions.
Chop up some carrots.
Dice up some celery
Add in the ground beef and brown.
Once the beef is all browned, drain any accumulated fat.
coarsely chop some garlic.
Fill the pot about 3/4 with water. I will give you a measurement in the recipe, but really what I do is go by the size of my pot… If I want more soup, I use a large pot, if I want less, I use a smaller pot… I might add in some extra veggies if I am using a super big pot, but the basic recipe stays the same give or take a quart of water.
Stir and bring to a boil over high heat.
I use one large can of whole plum tomatoes… You can use two cans of diced or sauce… but I like the way the whole tomatoes break down throughout the cooking process… and I help them along a bit too.
This is what the tomato looks like in all that sauce… throughout the cooking I go after them with my wooden spoon to help them break down a bit.
My secret ingredient is beef base. You can use a stock or a bullion, but there is something about beef base in this particular soup that I really like.
This is what the beef base looks like, it’s thick and very concentrated.
In my tomato can, I pour some hot water in my tomato can.
It will look like this when it’s all melted together.
Then add into the soup.
Rinse a can of kidney beans.
I use about a palm full of Italian seasoning.
This time of year it is difficult to get some good fresh summer veggies… so I prefer frozen over canned… Frozen is flash frozen at the peak of freshness whereas canned just get mushy. I use these three in my Minestrone, corn, peas and Italian green beans (if I can find them, if not regular green beans are fine)
Stir and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes or so. Then add in your pasta… Normally, I use an orzo pasta, but I was out… so, I substituted with another small pasta, dilatini and it worked out great… as long as you keep the past small you are good to go! Cook pasta for another 20-25 minutes or so and serve.
Minestrone Soup
Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
2 medium ribs of celery, chopped
1 1/4 lbs. ground beef
1 large 16 oz. can whole tomatoes in sauce
1 12 oz can red kidney beans
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen Italian green beans
2 garlic cloves, diced
1 Tbs. Italian seasoning
1 heaping Tbs. beef base melted into 1/2 cup hot water
1/2 lb. Dilatini or Orzo pasta
12 -16 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
parmesan or mozzarella cheese for topping
Directions:
In a large pot over medium heat, sautée onions, carrots and celery until tender. Add in ground beef and brown. Drain fat and add in water (fill pot to 3/4 full with water). Add in tomatoes.
In the tomato can, add 1/2 cup hot tap water. To that add in beef base and stir until combined. Add mixture into the soup.
Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and add remaining ingredients saving the pasta for later. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Taste for salt and pepper. Add in pasta. Cook for an additional 20-25 minutes until pasta is well cooked. If soup is too thick just add in some water and taste for salt and pepper again.
Serve… Enjoy!