There is nothing better than cooking up a huge vat of soup over the weekend and having an arsenal of lunches in the fridge so you barely have to cook during the week. This Winter Minestrone is packed full of vegetables, but isn’t some sissy soup. Instead it has nuggets of carrots, lots of greens, pasta that reminds you of the canned minestrone that you grew up with, and of course, large pieces of bacon. This recipe makes enough for 8 bowls of soup, which can also be frozen too, at $1.42 per serving.
Winter Minestrone, adapted from Gourmet, January 2009
1/3 pound sliced bacon or pancetta, chopped
3 medium red onions, chopped
4 celery ribs, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 bunch Swiss chard
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes in juice
3 quarts hot water
5 cups coarsely chopped cored Savoy cabbage, about 6 ounces
5 cups coarsely chopped escarole, about 1/2 pound
1 piece Parmesan rind, about 3 by 1 1/2 inches
1 14-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
4 ounces dried macaroni pasta
Brown the bacon or pancetta in oil in a 7-to 9-quart heavy pot over medium heat. It is best to get the bacon as crispy as possible so that the majority of the fat renders and you aren’t left with flimsy and fatty pieces of bacon in your finished soup. Add the onions, celery, and carrots, and stir occasionally, while preparing the chard.
Cut out the tough stems from the chard and then chop them up, reserving the leaves for later. Stir the chard stems into the bacon and veggie mixture with garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until all of the vegetables are very tender and begin to stick to bottom of pot, about 45 minutes total.
Push the vegetables to one side of pot, and add the tomato paste to the cleared area and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste begins to caramelize, about 2 minutes. Stir the paste into the vegetables and let everything cook for another 2 minutes while continuing to stir.
Stir in the canned tomatoes with their juice, and use a spoon to break them up into smaller pieces. Add 3 quarts of hot water and scrape up any brown bits from bottom of pot.
Bring everything to a simmer, and then stir in the cabbage, escarole, and Parmesan rind. Let the soup continue to simmer, covered, until the greens are tender, about 40 minutes.
Coarsely chop up the chard leaves and stir them into the soup along with cannellini beans and pasta. Simmer, partially covered, for another 10 minutes. Remove the Parmesan rind from the soup and season with salt and pepper to taste.
