We’ve had a slight chill in the air this week. As you might be able to tell from my last post, I’m thinking about fall. I’ve really been trying to go through my collection of cookbooks, as I have collected such a wonderful assortment over the years. This one is no exception. It’s written by Henry Hill, the notorious mobster that the film “Goodfellas” is based off of. Now, let me just say what a great “food movie” Goodfellas is. The razor thin garlic? The cannoli incident? So many good scenes. But, I digress. You get me talking about any classic mafia movie, and I could go on for days!
There are so many great recipes in this book, I diddn’t even know where to begin. After much deliberation, I decided on this wonderful minestrone. It was delicious, and a relatively easy. It wasn’t super quick as far as cooking time goes – at 2 hours. But, for me, as a general rule of thumb – a good soup can’t come together quickly. Just the way it is folks!
I like to pre-cook my pasta first. I find that it doesn’t get quite as overcooked in the leftovers that way. I used elbow macaroni in this batch – but feel free to use whatever you like or have handy. This is really a “clean your fridge” out kind of meal. Lots of room for additions and substitutions. I kind of felt like maybe it would benefit for corn? Or some canelli beans perhaps? I was out of Parmesan cheese (I know! I know!), but I’d definitely top the soup with some before serving. Or, if you happen to have a rind laying around in the refrigerator or freezer, feel free to toss that into the mix as well. Just make sure you remove it before dishing it up!
Serve with a nice green salad and some crusty bread. Perfect for the cool fall evenings we have ahead of us!
Minestrone
3 tbsp olive oil
1/4 lb bacon or pancetta, diced
1 large onion, peeled and coarsley chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 leek, white and green parts, sliced
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes and juice
2 10.5 oz cans beef broth
2 cups water
large handful green beans
1/2 pound cabbage, sliced and cut into 2-inch pieces
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
2 small zucchinis, diced
1 cup pasta, cooked according to package directions
1/2 fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp dried basil
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)
Heat oil in a large pot. Add bacon or pancetta and cook, stirring, over medium heat 5-8 minutes (do not brown). Add carrots, celery, and leek and cook 5 minutes, or until all vegetables are soft. Crush or quarter the tomatoes. Add tomatoes and juice, broth, and water to the pot and stir well. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer. Snap off ends of green beans, break into approximately 2-inch pieces and add to pot. Add the cabbage, potatoes, zucchini, parsley, and dried herbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 hour. After 1 hour, taste for seasonings and cook for 1 more. After the second hour, add the cooked pasta and stir. Remove bay leaf and Parmesan rind if using.
Source: adapted from The Wiseguy Cookbook by Henry Hill
18 Comments
Mmmm, I love minestrone! That looks delicious. And how exciting to be making a real mobster style soup!
I love minestrone especially when it’s got BACON in it! Goodfellas is a movie that’s been on my To-Watch List for MANY years now but I just haven’t found the time to do it. Maybe I’ll make this when I finally watch it!
I love goodfellas, as well as any other mafia movie ever made. They are the only movies I will watch over and over. I also bought ingredients to make minestrone this week! Your minestrone looks awesome, very photogenic. Great dish to eat and enjoy a good movie.
This soup looks delicious! The photograph is beautiful! And I LOVE Goodfellas! I seem to always watch it when it comes on TV though the unedited version is the best! I have always wanted to grab a razor blade and see if I can cut garlic paper thin.
This looks great. I LOVE minestrone, even though I am not usually a big fan of tomato based soups. Mmm.
Great photo and GoodFellas was a very good movie. I love recipes that clean out the fridge (actually last week was all about cleaning out the fridge and freezer). And it is chilly enough here in CT for the soups to starting making an appearance on the dinner table. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
You must be feeling a Fall chill as this delicious soup screams cool weather! Funny, last night while temps were still in the upper 80′s,I got a sudden need to make French Onion soup. I enjoyed it, while I continued to mop my brow of sweat
Minestrone soup is an awesome soup for Fall and with Fall vegetables soon coming into season, there will be a lot of soup making going on here.
This is definitely something my kids would love. They are extremely fond of soups and veggies.
Happy Labor Day!
~ingrid
Now that I know you are gangsta, I am slightly scared of you… and also you make delicious looking minestrone!
I grew up eating minestrone quite often and even as an adult I enjoy every spoonful. I will have to give this recipe a try as it look mouthwatering!
This looks good! Can you believe I’ve never seen the movie? I think it’s been on tv a few times but I never think to sit down and watch it. Maybe I need to rent it and find out what the cannoli incident is about?
I love minestrone. Too bad it’s still in the 100s here. Come by I have an award for you.
Goodfellas IS a great movie! I might have to pull that out of the ol’ dvd collection tonight actually.
Speaking of great, the soup looks fantastic too. Perfect for fall weather…
So delicious looking! I can’t wait for the weather to cool a bit.
Minestrone is my FAVORITE type of soup! yum!!
We just had minestrone for lunch, but sadly, it was from a can. This looks 100x better!
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