I’m not sure if it’s entirely fair to call this a soup. It turned out much thicker than I intended, but in this case that only made it better. This is a very hearty, warming, comforting winter meal, and its creaminess totally belies the fact that it’s pretty darned healthy. In my quest to eat more like a vegetarian or a vegan, this soup is a winner.
I’ve made minestrone many times, so I’m surprised I’ve never written about it. Minestrone is the simplest soup, made up of whatever bits and odds and ends are leftover in the pantry or refrigerator. It usually includes beans, pasta, and tomatoes as a base, but there is no set recipe, and the word minestrone has become a synonym for “hodgepodge” in Italy. It’s a great soup to make on Saturday night, before you go to the grocery store, when your refrigerator is mostly bare, and you need to use up the last of whatever is on hand, and it’s an especially excellent winter soup, because it takes well to all those winter vegetables. Yes, I love minestrone and turn to it often, and yet I’ve never seen the results I saw from this most recent minestrone making.
It was a very simple accident, really, and a fortuitous one, I think. After adding all my ingredients, I raised the heat to bring the stock to a boil, set my timer for 20 minutes, and left the room without remembering to turn the heat back down to simmer. When I came back in 20 minutes the soup had thickened up like crazy, and the starch in the potatoes had broken down, making the soup extra smooth and creamy. And awesome.
Yes, this was definitely a fortuitous accident. Also an accident: This vegetarian thing doesn’t come easily to me and I added an anchovy fillet without thinking about it, which makes this decidedly not vegetarian. I think it added a little something, but I’m sure the soup would be no less delicious without it, so to be well and truly vegetarian, leave it out.
[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:3]
I love food like this: hearty and full of vegetables, flavorful, smooth and creamy, but not rich and heavy. This soup is great all week long for lunch, or for dinner with a big green salad. And who knows, in the future I may just continue to overcook my minestrone so it turns out as thick and creamy as this. I think I like it best this way.