Vegetable Minestrone
Vegetable Minestrone. Hearty, cozy, and delicious for a cold winter Monday. Filled with green beans, spinach, butternut squash, tomatoes, white beans, and pancetta. Topped with allllll the Parmesan cheese because there’s no such thing as too much cheese !! Happy Monday guys hope everyone stays comfy and cozy !!
Mondays are never fun. Mondays in January are even worse. But at least it’s soup season…and you know we always start the week off with a hearty and cozy soup in the winter. You know, the warm your bones kind of soups because they always help the Monday scaries.
And is there any better way to warm your bones than with a winter vegetable minestrone?! This one is totally different than any other minestrone we have made before. We are all about a good vegetable minestrone, so we try to change them up a bit. And this one is pretty unique.
Loaded with green beans, spinach, butternut squash, tomatoes, white beans, and pancetta. All the perfectly hearty ingredients for a cold winter night. And don’t forget to finish it off with loads of parmesan cheese. It just makes everything even better and even cozier.
Cheers to another January Monday being over. I don’t know about you guys, but this one was pretty rough for me, so needless to say I am not sad to see it go !! Time for a glass of wine and some cozy soup !!
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 ounces diced pancetta
4 carrots; diced
3 celery ribs; diced
1 onion; diced
2 garlic cloves; minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
20 ounces butternut squash; cubed
8 ounces green beans
salt
1 (26 ounce) box chopped Pomi tomatoes
8 - 10 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
black pepper
1 (19 ounce) can cannellini beans
1/2 cup white wine
2 tablespoons basil pesto
5 ounces spinach
parmesan reggiano for serving
Directions
In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil. Add the pancetta and cook for about 10 minutes or until crispy. Remove the pancetta with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add the carrots, celery, onion, garlic, thyme, butternut squash, and green beans. Season with a pinch of salt. Cook for 8 - 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, 2 quarts of chicken broth, bay leaf, 1 teaspoon of salt, and black pepper. Stir to combine. Partially cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes.
Add the wine and pesto. Cook another 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add the beans, pancetta, and spinach. Cook another few minutes or until spinach has wilted. Add additional chicken broth if needed. Serve topped with parmesan cheese.
