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Robin Ward

Julia Turshen’s Minestrone-ish Soup

This hearty vegetarian Minestrone-ish soup is filled with beans, pasta, cabbage, carrots, and rich tomato flavor, then finished with Parmesan, pesto, or crunchy lemony breadcrumbs.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Course: dinner, Soup
Cuisine: Italian, Italian-American
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 4 carrots, peeled and chopped
  • Kosher salt
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 4 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 lb. savoy or green cabbage, roughly chopped (about 8 cups chopped cabbage)
  • 1 15 oz. can beans (I recommend cannellini, chickpeas, or Roman beans), drained and rinsed
  • 1 28 oz. can petite diced or crushed tomatoes
  • 6 cups  chicken or vegetable broth (or boiling water mixed with Better Than Bouillon)
  • 1 cup small pasta (ditalini, tubetti, orecchiette, elbows — whatever you have, regular or gluten-free)
For serving: Grated Parmesan cheese, freshly ground black pepper, and pesto (homemade or store-bought), and/or Haley’s Savory Sprinkles (recipe follows)

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven or heavy soup pot

Method
 

  1. Place the oil in a large heavy pot (such as a Dutch oven) over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and a large pinch of salt and cook, stirring now and then, until the vegetables are beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste, and dried oregano and cook, stirring until very fragrant, about a minute.
  2. Add the cabbage, beans, diced tomatoes with their juice, and the broth, turn the heat to high, and bring the mixture to a boil. Season to taste with salt. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until the cabbage is softened and the flavors are very well combined, at least 30 minutes (but it’s fine for up to an hour over very low heat, if that helps to know). Just before you’re ready to eat, add the pasta and cook until softened, about 10 minutes or so.
  3. Serve the soup hot with lots of grated cheese, freshly ground black pepper, a spoonful of pesto, and/or a shower of Haley’s Savory Sprinkles in each bowl.

Haley’s Savory Sprinkles

  1. Place 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add a cup of coarse fresh breadcrumbs (or panko) and cook, stirring, until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
  2. Remove from the heat and let the breadcrumbs cool for a couple of minutes, then stir in the finely grated zest of a lemon and ½ cup of grated Parmesan (or 1/4 cup nutritional yeast, if vegan). Season to taste with salt and pepper.