New Recipe: Minestra

The Final Product

       It's Tasty Tuesday which means I have another recipe to share with all of you! It's been a rainy weekend in the 518 so I thought it would be perfect to share my Minestra recipe which is perfect for a cold day. For all of you non-Italians, minestra is sorta like a heavy soup that combines a mixture of greens and beans. When I make minestra I like to have it marinate all day so when it's time to eat it you get a full range of flavors.

Ingredients:

- Olive Oil
- 1 Package of Hot Sausage
- 2 big bunches of escarole - If you've never had Escarole, it's delicious...basically a leafy green used in soups
- 5 cloves of garlic (I sometimes use more for extra flavor, but if you're not a big garlic fan stick to 4-5 cloves)
- 1 (48oz) container of chicken broth 
- 1 cup water
- Pepperoni slices (I normally buy those little bags of pepperoni and use about half of it)
- 2 cans of Cannellinini beans 
- Parmesan cheese (for garnish)

Directions:

1. Drizzle some olive oil in the bottom of a large sauce pan.
2. Take the sausage out of the casing and break it up into little pieces and add to pan. Brown up the sausage and garlic on medium-low heat till sausage is no longer pink. Be careful to stir often so the garlic doesnt burn.
3. Wash escarole and rip it apart (it will all break down in the soup but I break it up so it looks like it belongs in a salad).
4. Add container of chicken broth, water, escarole and pepperoni. I normally use about half a package of pepperoni, but you can put in as much as you like.
5. Let simmer for about 4 hours (stirring occasionally). The escarole will shrink and mix in with the liquids. 
6. 1 hour before you plan on serving the minestra add the 2 cans of beans undrained.
7. Serve and enjoy (I like to sprinkle a little parmesan cheese on top).

Once you take the sausage out of the casing, brown it up with the garlic.

The escarole will wilt into the liquid. Mix together and let it simmer.

***One other thing... the best part of the minestra is the juices so I would buy a loaf of bread to serve it with for dipping! Delish!

xoxo