Happy Wednesday, friends! Today on Instagram I shared one of my favorite cold weather recipes: Minestrone soup! YUM! It’s perfect for this rainy, chilly week we are having in Georgia. And since it’s Valentine’s week I of course had to make it with some heart shaped pasta! I found these at Trader Joe’s but you can find some at most grocery stores this time of year. For the rest of the year I use ditalini pasta or any other small pasta I have in the pantry. You can’t go wrong with this recipe!
Now this isn’t your typical Olive Garden minestrone soup; No offense I love the OG but this soup is PACKED with flavor! When I first made it I was a little nervous about giving it to my kids because of how many textures it had. But to my surprise they loved it and destroyed their bowls! A very proud Mom moment for me.
A few notes to keep in mind:
Italian Sausage- I used a plan ground sausage and just seasoned it with olive oil, garlic salt and Italian herbs. You can absolutely use a spicy sausage or ground beef. Similar to what pasta you use, you cannot go wrong with the protein. You can also leave the meat out all together if you are going for a vegeterian option.
Parmesan rind – In my opinion, this is the secret ingredient for this recipe. By using the actual rind it will give the soup a rich, savory flavor. Just don’t forget to take it out before serving or someone will get a surprise in their bowl!
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground sausage or Spicy Italian Sausage
- Olive oil
- Garlic Salt
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 1 rib of celery, diced
- 1 head garlic, crushed
- 2 bay leaves
- Italian Herbs (Fresh: rosemary, sage and thyme mix OR dried mix)
- Parmesan Cheese, with rind
- 1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
- 40 ounces chicken stock
- 1 can(14 ounces) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup kale, rinsed and chopped
- 2 cups heart shaped pasta
- Optional: 4-8 ounces of water OR chicken stock to thin it out
Instructions
- Add sausage to large pot over medium-high heat. Drizzle with olive oil and garlic salt. Brown the sausage for 5-7 minutes, using a wooden spoon to break the sausage into bite-sized crumbles as it cooks. Once browned, transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Using the same pot and oil leftover from the pork, cook onions, carrots and celery together. Cook until the veggies are softened.
- Once the veggies are soft, add garlic, bay leaves, Italian herbs crushed tomatoes, chicken stock and parmesan rind. Stir to combine. Increase the heat to medium-high to bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to maintain a steady simmer.
- Once soup has been rediced to a nice simmer, add back sausage, beans and pasta. Cook unitl pasta is soft. Note: If the soup has gotten to thick for your preference, add water here.
- Before serving discard bay leaves and parmesan rind. Add kale and cook additional 5 minutes. Taste and season with additional garlic salt or regular salt as desired. Enjoy!
XO
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