Sunday, June 28, 2009

Mutant "Minestrone"

For the record: I have been cooking, albeit mostly repeating old recipes and sometimes being too lazy to update.

I've become addicted to Annie's Organics Minestrone (despite its deplorable lack of animal protein), and so resolved to make some minestrone of my own. Alas, things didn't quite turn out the way I'd planned: the term minestrone is in scare quotes because had to make do without things like a mirepoix or fresh herb; also, the current proportions are more familiar as pasta sauce or tomato-garlic soup. So far, the resultant concoction on my stove tastes fine, but could taste better. Meh as it may be, here it is for my records and to build on.

  • 3 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 6-10 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 3 oz. proscuitto
  • 1 medium-sized potato, cubed
  • 1 28-oz. can San Marzano tomatoes, crushed or chopped
  • 1 14 oz. can kidney beans
  • 1 can shoepeg corn
Saute onions and garlic in olive oil over medium heat till onion is soft, about 5-7 minutes. Add proscuitto and saute for 3-5 more minutes.

Add potato, as well as salt and pepper to taste. Stir for one minute more.

Turn heat to high. Add tomatoes, broth and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer for about 15-25 minutes, when tomatoes have started to break down. (At this point, I also threw in 2 cubes of sugar because it was too sour without the counteracting notes of the celery and carrot).

Add kidney beans. Return to a boil, then to a simmer. Add corn 5 minutes before everything's done.

Will wait for this to age a bit before figuring out what I want to do with it. Seems certainly good enough to eat while watching the NYY-NYM game tonight, though, and to take to work tomorrow.

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