Quick & Easy Minestrone Soup
By: Angela LeMoine
Published: Tuesday, August 19, 2014 - 8:57am

Ingredients




4- 6 oz pancetta, small dice
6 carrots, medium dice
5 celery stalks, medium dice
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1 - 28 oz can diced tomatoes
2 cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
a few handfuls of fresh baby spinach
12 cups broth
cooked to al dente elbow pasta
olive oil

Preparation

1 Heat up a large pot over medium low heat. Add in a couple Tbsp of olive oil and the diced pancetta. 2 Cook the pancetta until browned. 3 Add in the carrots, garlic and celery. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook until just softened a bit. 4 Stir in the diced tomatoes {including the juice}, the beans and broth {see note on broth in the intro}. 5 Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the veggies are tender. 6 Stir in the baby spinach and cook just for a couple more minutes. 7 Add in the pasta and serve.

About

We’ve had many cool nights this summer and thats what put me in the mood for a bowl of comforting Quick & Easy Minestrone Soup! Chock full of beautiful veggies, a bit of salty pancetta, homemade chicken broth and some elbow pasta. Serve up with some warm Italian garlic bread and that my friends is comfort in a bowl!
NOTE: I know homemade broth isn’t something you’ve always got on hand but I will say, there is no comparison in flavor to store bought. Thankfully I have a little trick for you to liven up store bought broth. While you are prepping the veggies add the broth to a pot along with 3-4 heaping Tbsp of tomato broth, some fresh parsley and a bay leaf. Simmer for 15 minutes. This simple step really does enhance the flavor nicely!