A Minestrone for Spring

Yesterday, we were in Vermont for a quick visit with Matt's mom, and we woke up to what I can only describe as a snowstorm. There was an inch of snow on the ground, it was coming down in buckets, and it hardly felt like the end of April! We drove back through rain and snow to warmer temperatures here in Boston, and thankfully, today was short-sleeve and flip-flop weather! What a difference 24 hours makes, huh?

Last night, it was so dreary and blah. It was definitely a soup and sandwich kind of evening, so I started cooking early in the afternoon...this soup takes a LOT of prep work, and minimal cooking time.

From Jamie's Kitchen, Jamie Oliver creates a delicious minestrone for the spring season. Using vegetables readily available during this time of year can make a meal seem even more comforting. It just seems...right. I made some basil pesto (for the end of the process), and gathered some chicken stock, diced fennel, sliced asparagus, cauliflower florets, diced zucchini, blanched and diced plum tomatoes, olive oil, sliced garlic cloves, chopped scallions, sliced green beans, shelled fava beans, broken spaghetti noodles, salt, pepper, basil and chives. I left out peas and yellow beans - and i'll tell you why - I couldn't find yellow beans and I was already shelling fava beans, so I chose to just stick with those. Check out the mise en place on this one!

It took a long time to cut, dice, chop, slice and shell all these veggies! I totally cleared out a nice little alcove in my fridge though - that's a lot of vegetables!

Once we were ready to start cooking, I brought a pot of stock to a boil. Meanwhile, I added about 5 tablespoons of olive oil to a large pot. I heated the oil until warm and then added the sliced garlic cloves, diced fennel, and sliced scallions, and gently fried them without browning for about 15 minutes.

While that was cooking, I started to gather the ingredients for my sandwich...Chicken and Mango with Cilantro-Pesto, from the Williams Sonoma Panini Cookbook. While I didn't take pictures of the process, I will say that the recipe was quite easy...and delicious! I'll make it again so I can document it for you guys sometime soon.

Once the 15 minutes were up, I added all of my veggies (asparagus, cauliflower, zucchini, fava beans, green beans, tomatoes) along with some broken up spaghetti noodles and my boiling chicken stock. Stir everything together, and depending on how liquid-y you like your soup, add some more stock accordingly. I added an extra cup of stock because it didn't look soup-y enough for my taste, but if you love a REALLY chunky soup, there's no need!

I brought it all to a boil and allowed it to cook for about 10 minutes more. Meanwhile, I assembled and pressed my panini sandwiches.

When plating, I scooped some soup into each bowl and then topped them with a hefty tablespoon of pesto. I sprinkled some chopped basil and chives on top and then put a panini on each plate. The pesto packs a real punch of flavor into each spoonful of the soup...I'm so happy I've got leftovers for lunches this week! :)