Monica's Mushroom Minestrone
Hello hello! I give you Monica’s mushroom minestrone, inspired by S5E16 of Friends and developed for my podcast Friends with Food! Listen to the podcast and make some delicious soup! Serve it Monica Style with a big ol loaf of bread!
monica’s mushroom minestrone
1 or 2 tablespoons oil
1 onion, diced
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced into coins
1 stalk celery, sliced
3 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tsp fennel seed
¼ tsp dried oregano *
¼ tsp dried rosemary *
¼ tsp dried thyme *
½ tsp smoked paprika
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
8 oz button mushrooms, woody stems trimmed, chopped
1 can kidney beans, drained well
1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes
1 cup (or about 4oz) small shape pasta, such as ditalini
1 32 oz vegetable broth
2 cups chopped green beans
2 cups chopped cabbage
Salt
Pepper
Red wine vinegar
Parsley
scallion
*Feel free to substitute more or less of one herb or another, depending on what you have. You can also sub a tsp of Italian seasoning/herb mix for the individual herbs.
Put the oil into a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and a large pinch of salt. Stir and let cook until the onions begin to get translucent and the veggies begin to soften, 3-5 minutes. Stir in garlic, fennel, herbs, and paprika, and let cook for a minute to become aromatic. Stir in mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add a little more oil at this stage if the pan seems too dry. Add drained kidney beans, tomatoes with their juice, pasta, and broth. Turn up heat and bring soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let cook, partially covered, for 5 minutes. Add cabbage and green beans, and let cook another 3 minutes. Veggies and pasta should be tender; if not, let cook a few more minutes until everything reaches desired doneness. Add water if soup needs more liquid. Taste for seasoning, adding salt, pepper and a splash of vinegar to taste. Top with torn parsley and sliced scallions, and serve with a full loaf of crusty bread.
