Jamie's Minestrone

1341 Reviews

Prep: 35 min
Cook: 50 min
Ready In: 1 hr 25 min

“I created this soup after becoming tired of the excess salt and lack of veggies in canned minestrone. I recalled a great bowl of minestrone that was overflowing with rich vegetables at the 'Sheepherder's Inn' in Sacramento, California. Great with a hearty bread, romaine salad and a nice Merlot!” - by Jamie

Directions

In a large stock pot, over medium-low heat, heat olive oil and saute garlic for 2 to 3 minutes. Add onion and saute for 4 to 5 minutes. Add celery and carrots, saute for 1 to 2 minutes.
Add chicken broth, water and tomato sauce, bring to boil, stirring frequently. If desired add red wine at this point. Reduce heat to low and add kidney beans, green beans, spinach leaves, zucchini, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, the longer the better.
Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add macaroni and cook until tender. Drain water and set aside.
Once pasta is cooked and soup is heated through place 2 tablespoons cooked pasta into individual serving bowls. Ladle soup on top of pasta and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. Spray with olive oil and serve.

Reviews (1341)

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407

THERESA DONOHUE

Jan. 4, 2004

"This is a great recipe, I made minor changes and it tasted great!!! CHANGED: zucchini-2ea.,Chicken Broth- 4 cups, No red wine-replaced with White, 1 TBSP of crushed basil in jar instead of fresh, ..." See more1 TSP of dried oregano instead of fresh. ADDED 2ea.- yellow squash, 1ea.-28oz. can whole tomatoes- no juice just cut up tomatoe in 4 pieces and 5-Red potatoes cut up. After everything cooked for about 1 1/2 hours, I then puree appox. 1/3 of the soup to a thick texture and mixed to back in with the rest. MY FAMILY LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!"

284

LIZ5

Feb. 11, 2004

"I've used this recipe every winter since I found the posting. Jaime's recipe is terrific & I've made several changes which make it more appealing to my family. I omit green beans & replace them wi..." See moreth cannellini beans along with the Red kidney beans. I use lots of fresh spinach and cabbage if I have it. Ditalini is our favorite soup pasta, it hold up better than shells. We like lots of veggies so I didn't decrease any amounts of carrots, zucchini or celery. The first stage of sauteing the aromatic veggies is so important. It is the basis for a terrific soup. Thank you, Jaime! This is comfort food at its best."

221

GINNYG

Dec. 15, 2003

"Fabulous recipe! I did some substitutions though: I used potatoes instead of zucchini, and I added white wine instead of red. I also used italian-crushed tomatoes and only one small can of tomato s..." See moreauce. This is a great recipe that can easily be modified to suit both your tastes and whatever you have in the cupboard. Husband loved it!"

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