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Melis Family Minestrone

DAN BUETTNER: Purple Sweet Potatoes + Veggie Champuru + Gallo Pinto + Minestrone Soup
DAN BUETTNER: Purple Sweet Potatoes + Veggie Champuru + Gallo Pinto + Minestrone SoupNathan Congleton / TODAY
Servings:
4
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Chef notes

Traditionally, this soup is made with whatever is growing in the garden, but it always includes beans and fregula, a toasted pebble-size semolina pasta that is popular in Sardinia. Fregula can be purchased at Italian markets or online. If you can’t find fregula, any tiny pasta, such as Israeli couscous or acini di pepe, will do. This version also takes a little time to cook; longer cooking time melds the flavors and enhances the bioavail­ability of more nutrients, such as the lycopene in tomatoes and carotenoids and other antioxidants. A shorter cooking time will make a tasty dish as well, but nutritionally inferior. Traditionally, the minestrone is accompanied with slices of pane carasau, or Sardinian flat bread.

Technique tip: Use the stalks and fronds that come off a fennel bulb for the most intense flavor. No feathery fronds on the bulb? Add a teaspoon of fennel seeds to the aromatic vegetables you sauté to begin the dish.

Swap option: You can vary the beans in the minestrone: pinto beans make a good substitute for cranberry beans; great northern or cannellini beans, for the favas. Add other fresh vegetables from the garden or market, such as zucchini, cabbage, green beans and cauliflower or broccoli florets. Want a stronger tomato taste? Stir in a tablespoon or two of tomato paste.

Ingredients

  • 7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 medium yellow or white onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped (about 2/3 cup)
  • 2 medium celery stalks, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • One (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
  • 3 medium yellow potatoes, peeled and diced (about 1½ cups)
  • cups chopped fennel (bulbs, stalks, and fronds)
  • 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
  • 1/2 cup dried and peeled fava beans (or one 15-ounce can, drained)
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberry beans (or one 15-ounce can, drained)
  • 1/3 cup dried chickpeas (or ½ 15-ounce can, drained)
  • 6-8 cups water
  • 2/3 cup Sardinian fregula, Israeli couscous, or acini di pepe pasta
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1.

Warm 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven set over medium-high heat.

2.

Add the onion, carrots and celery; cook, stirring often, until soft but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 20 seconds.

3.

Stir in the tomatoes, potatoes, fennel, parsley and basil, as well as the drained beans and chickpeas. Add enough water (about 6 to 8 cups) so that everything is submerged by 1 inch.

4.

Raise the heat to high and bring pot to a full boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer slowly, uncovered, until the beans are tender, adding more water as necessary if the mixture gets too thick, about 1½ hours. If using canned beans, simmer for only 10 minutes.

5.

Stir in the pasta, salt and pepper. Add up to 2 cups of water if the soup seems too dry. Continue simmering, uncovered, until the pasta is tender, about 10 minutes.

6.

Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil into bowl before serving.

Source: The Blue Zones Solution