Yes, I know, ninkasi23 just did soup last week. It’s that time of year, and looks like this year we’ll actually have winter in California. Anyway, it’s chilly enough for lots of us to be thinking about soup for dinner. This week a friend mentioned cooking minestrone, and I thought “Yreka! A topic for my promised WFD!”
For other soupy ideas, I previously diaried some of my very favorite soups here, including Potato and Bacon Soup. On my list to try soon is ruleoflaw’s seasonally appropriate Mozart Golden Root Soup, as well as ninkasi23’s Cauliflower soup.
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From Gourmet Cooking Without Salt - for 12 to 16. This makes a huge pot of soup; I think I’ve always cut it in half and it’s still big. This is not the kind of recipe that requires precision, this is an outline, add and subtract as you prefer.
1 pound dried white beans, soaked overnight in water to cover
6 quarts water
5 tablespoons or more olive oil
8 cloves garlic, minced
3 large onions, coarsely chopped
1½ pounds mushrooms, sliced thinly
4 leeks, well washed and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
3 tablespoons salt-free tomato paste
4 cups shredded green cabbage
6 zucchini, thinly sliced
6 carrots, diced
5 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
3 large green bell peppers, seeded and diced
3 large red bell peppers, seeded and diced
2 teaspoons sugar
1½ tablespoons salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2½ quarts boiling water
1 quart dry white wine
2½ cups uncooked shell or bow tie pasta or elbow macaroni
1 cup grated Swiss or Parmesan cheese
Drain soaked beans and put them in a large heavy pot. Add the 6 quarts water, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook 1½ hours or until tender.
While the beans are cooking, heat the oil in a very large soup pot over medium heat. Sauté garlic, onion, mushrooms, leeks, parsley and basil until the onions are pale gold, stirring often.
Add the tomato paste, cabbage, zucchini, tomatoes, carrots, bell peppers, sugar, salt, black pepper, cayenne, water and wine. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 1¼ hours or until all the vegetables are tender but not mushy.
Drain the beans and add to the soup. Add the pasta. Stir well and cook 10 to 15 minutes or until the pasta is just done. Serve topped with grated cheese.
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Winter has also of course brought us colds and other ailments, and there’s really nothing like chicken soup for treating a cold. Anyone have a really good recipe? Don’t post it here — diary it for us! Message ninkasi23 if you can contribute chicken soup or anything else for a future WFD.