Freezer Minestrone
Fast and delicious minestrone recipe that will get you in and out of the kitchen with a great meal.
A nice, hot bowl of minestrone is the perfect food on a cold day. Thick with vegetables and beans, this soup is filling and delicious. This soup also has the benefit of being the quickest minestrone you can make. With the majority of the ingredients being either canned or frozen.
Frozen vegetables can't be left in the freezer indefinitely. They take on flavours from other foods easily and will quickly suffer from freezer burn. So, when it's time to use up multiple types of frozen vegetables, this recipe is perfect. Most frozen vegetables will work, so feel free to swap out those called for in this recipe with what you have on hand. Just thaw before adding it to the pot.
What this recipe doesn't call for the tomato paste usually added to minestrone. If you want a tomato-based broth, add a big tablespoon of tomato paste when you add the water/stock. While this recipe calls for water to be added, the vegetable stock will provide better flavour overall.
Ingredients
(Makes 8 servings)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 large white potato, peeled and diced
1 can (540ml) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
8 cups water (or vegetable stock)
1 cup carrots, thawed
1 cup green beans, thawed
1 cup zucchini, thawed
1/2 cup celery, thawed
1/2 cup green peas, thawed
1/3 cup spinach, thawed, chopped
1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, grated (optional)
Directions
In a large soup pot over medium-high heat, heat the oil then add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, rosemary, basil, salt, ground black pepper, and red pepper flakes and stir well. Continue to sauté for another 5 minutes, or until the onion turns translucent and golden.
Add the tomatoes and sauté until they start to soften (about a minute). Add the potato, cannellini beans, and 8 cups of water, or vegetable stock. Stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cover allowing to boil until the potato becomes tender (about 20 minutes). Add the thawed vegetables and stir well. Raise the temperature to medium-high to again bring to a boil. Boil for an additional 10 minutes until the thawed vegetables are completely heated through.
Taste for seasoning and add additional salt and pepper as needed. Serve. Optional: sprinkle bowls of soup with grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
Nutritional Information Per Serving:
total calories = 115 | total fat = 2.07g | saturated fat = 0.31g | cholesterol = 0mg | sodium = 91.21mg | net carbohydrates = 15.89g | dietary fibre = 4.46g | sugars = 4.57g | protein = 5.33g
