Question about recipes for Minestrone soup, need some advice from soup "chefs"?!
I have a very specific question about the process of making a great Minestrone soup!. I found this great "CopyCat" recipe for the Olive Garden's Minestrone soup!.
Their soup has a lot of flavor in it, and their broth is thin- which is the way I like it!. The recipe calls for canned diced tomatoes- and a copy of the instructions are below!. My question is, how do you cook the tomatoes so that they will create a thin broth!?
Should I puree them first!? I don't want a chunky broth, I understand the additional ingredients will make it hearty, but I know at the "Olive Garden" the broth itself is nice and thin!.
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup minced white onion (about 1 small onion)
1/2 cup chopped zucchini
1/2 cup frozen cut italian green beans
1/4 cup minced celery (about 1/2 stalk)
4 teaspoons minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
4 cups vegetable broth (Swanson is good *note: Do not use chicken broth!*)
2 (15 ounce) cans red kidney beans, drained
2 (15 ounce) cans small white beans or great northern beans, drained
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup carrot, julienned or shredded
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
3 cups hot water
4 cups fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup small shell pasta
Directions
1Heat three tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot!.
2Saute onion, celery, garlic, green beans, and zucchini in the oil for 5 minutes or until onions begin to turn translucent!.
3Add vegetable broth to pot, plus drained tomatoes, beans, carrot, hot water, and spices!.
4Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes!.
5Add spinach leaves and pasta and cook for an additional 20 minutes or until desired consistencyWww@FoodAQ@Com
Their soup has a lot of flavor in it, and their broth is thin- which is the way I like it!. The recipe calls for canned diced tomatoes- and a copy of the instructions are below!. My question is, how do you cook the tomatoes so that they will create a thin broth!?
Should I puree them first!? I don't want a chunky broth, I understand the additional ingredients will make it hearty, but I know at the "Olive Garden" the broth itself is nice and thin!.
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup minced white onion (about 1 small onion)
1/2 cup chopped zucchini
1/2 cup frozen cut italian green beans
1/4 cup minced celery (about 1/2 stalk)
4 teaspoons minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
4 cups vegetable broth (Swanson is good *note: Do not use chicken broth!*)
2 (15 ounce) cans red kidney beans, drained
2 (15 ounce) cans small white beans or great northern beans, drained
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup carrot, julienned or shredded
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
3 cups hot water
4 cups fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup small shell pasta
Directions
1Heat three tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot!.
2Saute onion, celery, garlic, green beans, and zucchini in the oil for 5 minutes or until onions begin to turn translucent!.
3Add vegetable broth to pot, plus drained tomatoes, beans, carrot, hot water, and spices!.
4Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes!.
5Add spinach leaves and pasta and cook for an additional 20 minutes or until desired consistencyWww@FoodAQ@Com
Answers:
Pureeing the tomatoes is an option if you don't want chunks of them in your soup, which I assume is what you meant by not wanting a "chunky" broth!.!.!.it may thicken it up some, though!. Either way, you can just add more vegetable broth to thin the soup out (without taking away any flavor) any time you'd like!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
I always just pour the whole thing in!. I've never had broth thicken on me for no reason!.
Try following the directions exactly, but reserve the tomato liquid from the can!. If your soup starts getting to be too thick, pour in as much of the liquid as you need!.
Good luck!. (And I am totally going to try this recipe!.)Www@FoodAQ@Com
Try following the directions exactly, but reserve the tomato liquid from the can!. If your soup starts getting to be too thick, pour in as much of the liquid as you need!.
Good luck!. (And I am totally going to try this recipe!.)Www@FoodAQ@Com
The minestrone is chunky anyway with all those beans and chopped zucchini and the pasta!. Diced tomatoes are usually small diced anyway, so adding a tin of tomatoes wont make much difference to the minestrone's chunkiness, just adds another dimension of taste not to mention the goodness of tomatoes!.
Tomatoes don't really cook down into a puree unless you mash them, so add them as stated in the recipe!. If you add closer to the end, you'll have undercooked tomatoes mixed with the cooked vegetables!.
Add more water to the pot as its cooking if you're finding that the broth is becoming too thick for your liking!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
Tomatoes don't really cook down into a puree unless you mash them, so add them as stated in the recipe!. If you add closer to the end, you'll have undercooked tomatoes mixed with the cooked vegetables!.
Add more water to the pot as its cooking if you're finding that the broth is becoming too thick for your liking!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
i use to work at the olive garden!.!.!. and whenever i made ministrone i added the tomatoes near the end!.!.!. they didn't really cook!.!.!. just got warmed up by the broth!.!.!. there is usually enough liquid in the can to keep things light!.!. that's a really close recipe!.!.!.but there is also a touch of red wine that the olive garden puts in!.!.Www@FoodAQ@Com