Kitchen

Brit Gal Sarah was kind enough to ask me to be a guest blogger

today, so hop on over to her place and check it out. She's a delightful

Brit bloggy newly transplanted into Tornado Alley, USA.

And a recent Blog of Note, Coffee Messiah, has designated today's

theme "kitchen". Well, the latest savory concoction in the Manor

Kitchen has been this wonderful recipe for minestrone. A nice

steaming bowl of soup is perfect for a cold snowy evening, don't you

think? The key is browning the tomato paste and slow cooking the

veggies. Patience pays off with this one. So put on your warm woolly

socks and simmer a pot of this yummy stuff on the stove. It's low cal,

tastes heavenly and best of all warm!

Winter Minestrone

1/3 lb sliced pancetta, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

4 celery ribs, chopped

3 medium red onions, chopped

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 bunch Swiss chard

6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 28 oz can whole tomatoes in juice

3 qt hot water

5 cups coarsely chopped cored Savoy cabbage

5 cups coarsely chopped escarole

1 piece Parmigiano-Reggiano rind

1 19 oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

accompaniments:

extra virgin olive oil for drizzling, cooked ditalini pasta tossed

with oil, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Cook pancetta, onions, celery, and carrots in oils in a wide 7 to 9 qt

heavy pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Cut out stems from chard and chop stems, reserving leaves. Stir

chard stems into pancetta mixture with garlic, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp

pepper and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until veggies are

very tender and begin to stick to bottom of pot, about 30 minutes.

Push veggies to one side of pot. Add tomato paste to cleared area

and cook, stirring until it starts to caramelize, about 2 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes with their juice, add hot water. Bring to a simmer,

stir in cabbage, escarole and Parmesan. Simmer until greens are

tender, about 30 minutes.

Coarsely chop chard leaves and stir into soup along with beans.

Simmer for 10 minutes, discard rind, add salt and pepper to taste.

Add cooked pasta, just before serving. Soup without pasta, can be

made 2 days ahead and chilled.

photo from January issue of Gourmet--

I dropped my camera and broke it!! ((sob))