One of my favorite soups is minestrone. It was nice and chilly today and felt like winter might just be here... mind you winter in SoCal is when it drops into the 60's. What I love about minestrone is that you can use a mix of your favorite veggies AND meat and it fills you up. I also happen to love food that has lots of color and this soup fits the bill. The prep time isn't too bad, but I'm sure you can find a few ways to cut corners and make it even easier. This one might seem like a lot of steps and a long process but it really isn't and you'll have full bellies all around. THIS RECIPE MAKES A VERY LARGE PORTION, if you like you can cut the recipe in 1/2 and I'm sure it would work just fine. However, we love it so much it doesn't last. My hope, is that it is a hit in your home, as it is in mine. Mangiare!

1 lb. of lean beef (I'm sure you could also use turkey)
1 cup of Ditalini pasta
2 32oz containers of beef stock 
1 15oz can of Cannelini beans rinsed and drained
3tbsp EVOO
1 cup of carrots
3 medium celery sticks
2 or 3 small zucchini (I used a yellow squash for kicks)
1 small onion
1 1/2 cups of green beans (you can use canned if you like)
1 28oz can of diced tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste (I highly recommend buying it in concentrate, it's pricey at first but worth it)
2 bay leaves
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 tbsp of meat seasoning (again, I used Lawry's)

Optional:
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan  (I bought a fresh block, cut it in 1/2 and stored one in the freezer and the other in the fridge)
Chicken bouillon- I use this quite a bit, buy a jar and it lasts for a while AND adds more flavor than plain salt/pepper.

In a small pot boil water to cook the cup of ditalini pasta, follow cooking instructions leaving it al dente and set it aside.

In a deep set pot or dutch oven set heat to medium and add EVOO, celery, carrots, onion and 1 minced garlic clove with a pinch of chicken bouillon (if you don't have it you can use a pinch of salt/pepper). Cook for about 5 mins until veggies soften up. Add beef, 2 minced cloves of garlic, meat seasoning, and tomato paste, use your cooking spoon to break up the meat until it's fully cooked.

Add the cannelini beans, can of diced tomatoes, beef stock, and bay leaves and allow it to simmer for 15 mins. Then add green beans, zucchini, and cooked pasta and allow it to simmer on medium to low for another 15min or until the zucchini has cooked through.

When you are serving the soup make sure you don't serve the bay leaves. If you leave them in the soup it renders more flavor so don't toss them.


We like to grate in fresh parmigiano reggiano to each bowl. Remember this cheese is much saltier than others, so watch your hand when salting/seasoning meat.


Try it with sliced baguette, croutons... whatever your taste buds are feeling!