MINESTRA - Italian Greens and Beans Soup

Talk about an old fashion Italian soup, well this one is it!  It's hearty, a "sticks to your ribs" kind of soup, a few easy ingredients, some fresh and some canned, and it doesn't take long to make, about half hour. It's a good one if you have to make it when you come home from work.  I had everything on hand but the escarole so I got that the day before I was going to make my soup. Escarole is from the chicory family and has a bit of a bitter taste unless it's cooked.  I also like it in a salad mixed with other greens and  vegetables.  Check it out in your grocery store, if you can't find it or just don't like it you can substitute spinach or arugula. This could also be made vegan/vegetarian by switching out the chicken stock for vegetable stock and omitting the pancetta. ENJOY!

Recipe below.

Simple ingredients for a delicious soup.

Saute onion, garlic and pancetta in olive oil.

Chop up the escarole.

Add to the pan, let it cook down.

Add the cannellini beans

Let it all come together so it tastes really great!

Getting piping hot.

All done and topped with parmesan cheese.  What better way to eat an Italian soup but topping it with cheese!

MINESTRA- Italian Greens and Beans Soup

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

5 cloves of minced garlic, could also use jarred minced garlic

1/2 cup pancetta, chopped

1 large head escarole, cleaned, washed and chopped

2- 14-15 oz cans cannellini beans, do not drain

32 oz. container of chicken stock, I used unsalted

Dash of nutmeg, more if you like, I used fresh ground

Salt and pepper to taste

Fresh grated Parmesan or Locatelli cheese

Loaf of crusty warm Italian bread

Directions

In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium high heat.  Saute the onion, garlic and pancetta stirring while cooking, until the onions are transparent and pancetta is cooked, be careful not to burn the garlic.

Add the chopped escarole and cook it down until it is wilted.  Add the beans, stock, nutmeg, salt and pepper.  Cook for 10-15 minutes.  Serve piping hot with grated cheese on top and warm crusty bread.

 

Peas And A Pasta

We eat a lot of pasta in this house and make all kinds of sauces to go with it.  Not just your old red sauce and meatballs here.  You can do so many things with a box of pasta.  It's inexpensive to buy, I always get it on sale, and have a stockpile of it in the pantry.  My daughter now makes her own homemade pasta,  it's so good,  she doesn't buy it in the grocery store anymore.  I haven't ventured that far yet, although I have made it once or twice in my lifetime.  Here is a new favorite of mine, Pasta and Peas.  It's quick to make, filling and easy on the budget.  Recipe below.

I started with a little olive oil in the pan, 1/3 cup of diced pancetta and 4 large cloves of  minced garlic.

 Saute it together in the frying pan, be careful not to burn the garlic.  I used linguine for my dish, but you can use any shape pasta you like, and I used 1 1/2 cups of petite peas.

 Drain the pasta, pour on the sauce, toss with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

 And it's dinner in about 20 minutes.  Serve with a garden salad, warm bread or garlic bread. Yummy good!

Pasta and Peas

Ingredients

1 lb. box of your favorite pasta

1/4 cup of olive oil

1/3 cup of diced pancetta, can also use bacon, cook until crispy

4 large cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning

1 1/2 cups of frozen petite peas

salt and pepper to taste

Parmigiano - Reggiano cheese

Directions

Start a large pot of salted water on high heat for the pasta.  In a saute pan, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil (from the 1/4 of oil) heat on medium- high.  Add the pancetta, saute for 5 - 7 minutes or until crispy, turn the heat down to medium, then add the garlic and saute together until the garlic is fragrant, but be sure not to burn the garlic. Turn the heat down again to a simmer, add the remainder of the olive oil and the Italian seasoning. Stir to combine with the pancetta and garlic.

Add pasta to boiling water and stir.  In the last few minutes of cooking add the peas to the pasta water to cook them quickly. When pasta is cooked drain in a colander then transfer to a serving bowl.  Toss with the pancetta and garlic sauce, salt and pepper, and grated cheese.  Makes 6 - 8 servings.