Minestrone

This yummy recipe is adapted from The Italian Kosher Cookbook, published in 1965 by Ruth and Bob Grossman. It’s actually part of a larger volume called The Kosher Cookbook Trilogy, which also includes Chinese and French sections. The recipes originated with Ruth’s Grandmother Slipakoff, who collected recipes for Chinese favorites and figured out how to make them kosher. Then she did the same for classic Italian and French dishes.

The authors say Grandma’s favorite Yiddish saying was “As men lebt, d’lebt men alles” (“As I live, I see everything.”)

The recipes all have cutesy Yiddish-inflected titles. This one is called “Minestrone Della Contessa Goldfarb.” And cutesy Yiddish-inflected directions, like “Let it cook for another 20 minutes and it’s ready to serve to an army. But don’t worry, it keeps nice in the refrigerator.”

I make this with vegetable stock, but you can use beef stock if you prefer.

The hardest part of the recipe is making sure you have all the many vegetables on hand.

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 quarts meat or vegetable stock
1 cup cut-up green beans
1 small can tomato paste
a handful of fresh spinach leaves, chopped
1 Tbs. fresh chopped parsley, or 1 tsp. dried parsley
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 can light red kidney beans or cannellini beans
2 small zucchini, sliced (if using a larger zucchini, dice it)
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced (no need to peel new potatoes)
¼ small cabbage, shredded (or use a cup or two of packaged shredded cabbage)
“Enough salt and pepper so it will have a taste”
1 cup elbow macaroni, soup shells or other small pasta

Directions:

In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, saute the onions until soft. Add the stock and everything else except the pasta.  Stir well to make sure the tomato paste gets blended in.

Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally. Add a little water if the soup seems too thick.

Add the pasta and cook at least 10 minutes longer, until the pasta is tender, then serve.

Serves at least 12

Tags: Italian Kosher Cookbook, minestrone, Ruth and Bob Grossman, vegetable soup