Minestrone Soup

_This recipe is based upon using a whole bunch of swiss chard and a bunch of parsley. My Mother worked at an Italian restaurant when I was a teenager and through careful observation over time recreated their wonderful "secret" minestrone soup recipe. This is a restaurant sized batch be warned. It freezes great.

After Thanksgiving I was trying to decide what to do with my huge pot of turkey stock.  Bunches of fresh rainbow chard begging to be picked inspired me to try turkey minestrone.  The only difference from the recipe below was using my turkey stock and 4 cups of chopped leftover turkey (added at the end of cooking) instead of the beef.  Surprise!  It was great!

Minestrone Soup - Turkey Version (new twist on Thanksgiving left-overs)

Lots of veggies give great texture and flavor. Rainbow Chard from our garden

Juicy! Vegetables after grinding with meat grinder

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Ingredients:

• 2 Onions
• 2 Leeks
• 1 bunch Swiss Chard
• 1 bunch Parsley (stems and all)
  
• 5 ribs celery
• 1/3 head garlic

• 2.5 pounds beef chuck roast, cut into small cubes (or ground beef)
• 42 ounces (one 28 oz. can + one 14 oz. can) tomato sauce
• 2T Italian Seasonings
• 2 cans green beans
• 2 cans kidney beans
• 2 cans garbanzo beans
• 1/2 pound pasta, cooked and drained (spaghetti noodles, broken or other macaroni)
• 10 cups water or beef broth
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Preparation:
Grind or finely chop first 6 ingredients into a large bowl.  Brown beef, remove and set aside.  Add chopped vegetables to pan and saute for a few minutes in oil as needed.  Add tomato sauce, water or beef broth, seasonings and browned meat.  Cook for about an hour then add the canned beans. Cook for an additional half an hour then turn off the heat and add cooked and drained pasta. Season to taste with salt & pepper.

Serve with fresh grated (or shaved) Parmesan cheese.

©2011 Laura Delanty, Wife With A Knife - All Rights Reserved