Rainy Day Minestrone

My minestrone is more an “everything but the kitchen sink” recipe. Everything in today’s pot was in the fridge or from the garden . Sometimes I stretch the recipe with garbanzo or cannellini beans. If I have a leftover baked potato, in it goes. I’ve even added kabocha, albeit not a traditional ingredient.

Minestrone
Ingredients
Bunch kale
Beet leaves from bunch (roast beets for another recipe)
One red onion
Half a dozen crimini mushrooms
One big carrot
6 Roma tomatoes
1 oven-roasted red pepper
Leftover chicken or beef (we had leftover roast)
Garlic, lots
Green beans
8 cups broth
Rosemary, basil, parsley
Tortellini or borsetti

Directions

1. Slice the veggies into bite-sized pieces. The meat too.
2. Lightly sauté the onion and garlic.
3. Add the veggies (except for the leafy greens), meat, and broth and simmer until the carrot and green beans are al dente. Pile the leafy greens on top and simmer with the lid on the pot. Check periodically. When the greens have wilted, stir them into the brew.
4. Cook the pasta separately. I hate over-cooked pasta and it tends to absorb the broth if you store leftovers in the fridge overnight.
5. To serve, scoop the soup over a helping of pasta. Top with parmesan. Mangia.

There's only two of us here, but we love leftovers. This tastes even better the next day.