Rachael Ray and Kath make Minestrone Soup

No, Rachael Ray did not stop by and make soup with me today.  I wish.  Rachael was on at 1pm local time Monday through Friday when I was going through chemo.  I use several techniques I learned from her show and a few of the recipes as well.  This recipe appeared in my Facebook feed the other day.  I made some adjustments...and will note them as I go.

For the Beans:

• 1 pound dry cannellini beans
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 onion, unpeeled
• 1/4 cup salt
• For sake of time, I bought a 29oz can of cannellini beans that I added before the pasta after I drained and rinsed them.

For the Pistou (Provençal-style pesto to stir into soup):

• 1 cup basil
• 1/4 cup tarragon
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1/3 cup EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt

I skipped the Pistou altogether.  The basil and tarragon at the store were pretty sad. I did add  1/4 C. lemon juice right before the pasta.

• For the Minestrone: 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 leek, whites and light greens, chopped—it was about 3 inches of leek which I sliced thin
• 1 small bulb fennel, chopped—I used half a bulb of fennel
• 2 ribs celery with leafy tops, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 onion, chopped—I used half an onion
• 
  
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 small firm zucchini, chopped
• 1 small yellow squash, chopped—-this is not in the original recipe
• Salt and pepper
• 1 large fresh bay leaf—I used 2
• 2 cups cannellini beans—see above for my adjustment 
• 2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock—-I added 3 32oz. boxes of chicken stock
• 1/4 C. lemon juice per my notes above
• 1 cup orecchiette pasta or other short cut pasta
• At the very end, I added a healthy pinch of red chili flakes

In a Dutch oven, cover the dry beans with hot water and soak them for 20 minutes. Drain and rinse the beans. Return the beans to the Dutch oven and add stock, 1 quart of water, bay leaves, onion and salt and bring to a boil. Once at a rolling boil, reduce to a gentle boil and cook until tender and all the liquid is cooked out, about 30 minutes. Remove bay leaves and onion, and reserve.

For the pistou, place basil, tarragon, lemon juice and parm in food processor. Process into a sauce while streaming in EVOO. Season with salt to taste.