Episode #306 - Minestrone (Organic Vegetable Soup)
My mom used it quite often, but the pot she had always seemed to me very scary and unapproachable; you had to close it with a knob placed on top of the lid, and the valve was to it what a security pin is to a hand grenade. It used to scream whistles, twirl around and shake very fast...no pattern, absolutely random. All of us always expected to see those few ounces of metal pop out of the lid and fly to the moon, right trough the roof of the house.
I was allowed to use any kind of knife, but not that technological embarrassment that our cooker was. So, I never dared, until a few years ago, when Deb taught me how to cook her favorite pee soup, using a definitely better pot.
Just a few quick notes:
- Every pressure cooker is different. Different
brands usually have slightly different gauges, valves
and locking systems; please refer to the “user’s
manual”, before you get baptized...literally!
- If you would rather use a regular deep pot just
consider that the cooking time will be longer, more
than double...
- Be careful not to overcook! Pressure cookers are
great because they save a lot of time, but it is also
very easy to transform your chopped healthy goods
into a sludge...still a healthy sludge I guess...
- About Potatoes. They add a nice “starchy” feel to
the soup, and also really help achieving volume but,
when frozen and defrosted, their texture becomes
grainy (carbs always have a way to mess around with
you). So, if you intend to freeze your soup (like we
always do), do not use them...if you do, you can
still blend the soup after it is defrosted with a
mixer... still good.
The ingredients below take into consideration the
fact you will be cooking double servings for 4
people, and freeze half of your soup.
Let’s get cookin’!
MINESTRONE - ORGANIC
VEGETABLE SOUP
Serves: 4 + 4
Prep Time: 15
Cooking Time: Soffritto 25 min., Pressure Cooker ca
15 min. Regular pot ca 40 min.
Ingredients:
½ Red Onion
5 Cloves of Garlic
1 Handful of Parsley
2 Carrots
5 Celery stocks
2 Big Heads of Broccoli
2 Zucchini
1 Very Generous Handful of String Beans
1 Bag of Spinach (about 10 Oz)
2 Large Potatoes (not if you intend to freeze)
1 Can of Cannellini Beans (15Oz)
1 Piece of Parmesan Cheese Crust
6 Cups of Water
Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper, Hot Red Pepper
How to:
Getting Ready With the Ingredients
Wash all your vegetables thoroughly.
Chop the Onion, the Carrots and the Celery medium
fine.
Chop the Parsley very fine.
Cut the stems off the Broccoli, cut the ends off the
String Beans, slice the Tomatoes, the Zucchini and
the Potatoes (do not peel them).
Rinse well the Cannellini Beans.
Cooking Your Dish:
In about 5 Tbsp of Olive Oil sauté the Onion, the
Carrot and the Celery for about 10 minutes over a
medium high flame. Add every 3-5 minutes in the
order: Hot Pepper, Garlic and Tomatoes.
When the Tomatoes have become “part of the Soffritto”
(you can toss the peels off if you’d like), add the
six cups of water. Season with Salt and Pepper, and
add the Crust of the Parmesan.
One after the other add all the remaining ingredients
except the Cannellini Beans, stirring well, and
making sure that more or less it all get properly
mixed and covered with water (if not covered at least
nicely wet).
Close the pressure cooker, turn the flame up to a
high, and wait until you pan “tells you” that the
proper pressure has been reached (usually a valve
pops out, or a whistle starts blowing), lower the
flame to a simmer and let cook for a little less that
15 minutes.
Release the pressure from the cooker, and open the
lid; stir well, remove the Parmesan Crust and toss
it, add the Cannellini Beans and let the Soup rest
for about 15 minutes.
Serve dressed with some
freshly grated Parmesan, some Extra Virgin Olive Oil
and a sprinkle of Salt and Pepper.
Buon Appetito.
Debi and Gabriele
