My older daughter is turning five in less than a month. I can’t even believe that the baby who inspired me to start soupy is getting so big and now can talk about the ingredients and different soups that I make. To celebrate her big day, we are having a party with some of her friends, and while pizza is favored with the kids I want to serve something a little heartier for the adults. As the start of the new year, I am again focusing on my goal to make one soup per week as well as a focus on using ”real food” where I love to discover and experiment with new foods and soup styles, so I was really excited about the fresh and wholesome ingredients in Ina Garten‘s Winter Minestrone & Garlic Bruschetta. A friend of mine made of this soup a few weeks ago and I loved that it included so many of my favorite ingredients like butternut squash, spinach, pasta, carrots and celery to create a healthy winter soup complete with delicious garlic bruschetta that I can’t wait to try and share with you about how this turned out.

Ina Garten’s Winter Minestrone & Garlic Bruschetta

From Barefoot Contessa: Foolproof Recipes You Can Trust, by Ina Garten

Ingredients:
Good olive oil
4 ounces pancetta, ½-inch-diced
1½ cups chopped yellow onions
2 cups (½-inch) diced carrots (3 carrots)
2 cups (½-inch) diced celery (3 stalks)
2½ cups (½-inch) diced peeled butternut squash
1½ tablespoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
26 ounces canned or boxed chopped tomatoes, such as Pomi
6 to 8 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade (page 62)
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups cooked small pasta, such as tubetti (see note)
8 to 10 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves
½ cup good dry white wine
2 tablespoons store-bought pesto

Directions:

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven. Add the pancetta and cook over medium-low heat for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Add the onions, carrots, celery, squash, garlic, and thyme and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften.

Add the tomatoes, 6 cups of the chicken stock, the bay leaf, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 ½ teaspoons pepper to the pot. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.

Discard the bay leaf. Add the beans and cooked pasta and heat through. The soup should be quite thick but if it’s too thick, add more chicken stock. Just before serving, reheat the soup, add the spinach, and toss with 2 big spoons (like tossing a salad). Cook just until the leaves are wilted. Stir in the white wine and pesto. Depending on the saltiness of the chicken stock, add another teaspoon or two of salt to taste.

Serve large shallow bowls of soup with a bruschetta on top. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, drizzle with olive oil, and serve hot.

NOTE: To cook the pasta, put 1 cup of pasta into a large pot of boiling salted water. Cook according to the directions on the package, drain, and set aside. You can make this soup ahead and reheat it before serving. It will need to be reseasoned.

Garlic Bruschetta

1 baguette
Good olive oil
1 garlic clove, cut in half lengthwise

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

This post is a collaboration with Williams-Sonoma, but all words and opinions are my own.

Posted: Saturday, January 12th, 2013 @ 2:26 pm
Categories: Articles, vegetarian and vegan soups, winter soup ideas, winter soups.
Tags: Cooks Network, Ina Garten's Winter Minestrone & Garlic Bruschetta, Simple Recipes for Entertaining, soup, soup recipes, soups, winter soups.
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