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Cabbage and White Bean Minestrone
Ingredients
  • 2 T. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large onion finely chopped
  • 1 carrot cut into medium chunks
  • 1 celery stalk cut into medium slices
  • 2 T. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 15- ounce can tomatoes chopped--I used San Marzano tomatoes from Trader Joe's
  • 1 1/2 pounds green cabbage cored and coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 pound dried white beans rinsed and soaked overnight and drained before adding to soup--I used Rancho Gordo "Marcella" beans
  • 8 C. water
  • 1 Parmesan rind
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 C. elbow macaroni
  • 1/4 C. freshly-grated Parmesan for garnish
  • 1/4 C. chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
  1. Heat olive oil in a soup pot and saute onion, carrot, celery and parsley for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Add half the minced garlic and stir into the vegetable mixture. Cook for about a minute until the garlic begins to smell fragrant.
  2. Add tomatoes to the soup and cook for 5 to 10 minutes.
  3. Stir the chopped cabbage into the soup and then add drained beans, 8 C. water, Parmesan rind and bay leaf. Bring the soup to a boil and then lower heat to a simmer. Cook, partially covered, for about an hour. The beans should be almost tender at this point.
  4. Add the remaining minced garlic and salt to your taste. Stir and cook for another 30 minutes to an hour. Your soup will be done when the beans are thoroughly tender and creamy.
  5. Adjust seasonings. Remove the bay leaf and the Parmesan rind.
  6. Boil pasta in a separate pot of boiling water until the pasta is al dente. Drain.
  7. Ladle hot soup into serving bowls. Stir in some of the cooked pasta. Garnish with chopped parsley and a generous sprinkling of grated Parmesan.