Minestrone Alla Milanese Recipes

MINESTRONE ALLA MILANESE ~ SLOW COOKER

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients except cannelini beans and cheese in slow cooker, mix well.
• Cover and cook on LOW 5-6 hours Add cannelini beans. Cover and cook on LOW 1 hour or until vegetables are crisp tender. Remove and discard bay leaf. Garnish with cheese, if desired.

MINESTRONE ALLA MILANESE

Steps:

• Heat butter in 6 quart stock pot over medium heat. Add onions; cook and stir 6-8 minutes until soft and golden, but not brown.
• Stir in carrots and potato; cook and stir 5 minutes. Add celery, green beans, zucchini, cabbage and garlic; cook and stir 5 minutes.
• Add broth, water and tomatoes to pot. Stir in all spices.
• Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce to low. Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Rinse and drain cannelini beans; add to pot along with pasta. Uncover and cook over medium-low heat 30 minutes until soup thickens, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf.

MINESTRONE ALA MILANESE

Steps:

• Soak the beans overnight in enough water to keep them covered, then drain them and put them in a giant kettle (2-gallon or larger) with 4 quarts of water. Add the garlic cloves (peeled and put through a press), the onion, and the olive oil. Simmer the beans for about 1 1/2 hours. Choose 3 large potatoes with healthy skins and scrub them thoroughly under running water. Cut them into large pieces, without peeling, and add them to the pot. Slice thickly the carrots and zucchini and add them also, together with the cut string beans and sliced leeks. Season with some salt and pepper, a little chopped parsley, a good pinch of celery seed, some basil, oregano, and a pinch of marjoram. Simmer again for about 45 minutes. Slice thinly half a small head of savoy cabbage and add it to the soup along with the rice. If you can get the large, beautiful rice of the Lombardy region of Italy, you will truly have Minestrone alla Milanese. After adding the rice, simmer the soup another 20 minutes. If it is getting too thick for your taste, add a little more water as needed. About 5 minutes before the soup is ready to serve, add the tomatoes (cut into large wedges), the Parmesan cheese, and a little more fresh parsley. Serve steaming hot with a good whole-grain bread or muffin and more parmesan cheese if desired.