Minestrone

Since we’ve started working together, Nick and I are going into each video with a goal. For this one, we wanted to create a video that really lived in the meditative space. A video about slowing down, and appreciating the moment. We hope you enjoy this one!

Ingredients:
1 lb of Dry Beans (here I used 2 kinds, 8oz each)
12 Cups of Water
1 Tbsp Kosher Salt
1/2 to 1 cup of Olive Oil
1 Onion
1 Head of Garlic
1 Sweet Potato
2 small Squashes
1 or 2 cups of Frozen Corn
1 or 2 cups of Frozen Green Beans
1 or 2 small Squashes
2 or 3 big handfulls of Kale, Spinach, or Both
1 Box of Pasta

Method:
I like to soak beans overnight. But if I don’t have that much time, I will also pour over Boiling Water and let them sit for a few hours or so. I like to let my beans soak in 1 Tbsp of Kosher salt per 1 lb of dry beans.

To cook the beans, I like to sweat an onion with some garlic and a lot of olive oil. In my mind… there’s no fat in beans… so go ahead and add a lot of fat. Will I die early from heart disease? Hell if I know. I feel like 1 cup of olive oil in this entire recipe isn’t going to kill me. And it brings a healthy fat into the equasion.

I like to cook my beans for at least 2 hours. I don’t mind a mushy bean. They firm up the next day anyway.

You can definitely use Chicken Stock, or any stock. But I like to keep things very simple. I just use canned tomatoes, and lots of water. Specifically, the water that the beans soaked in.

After simmering the beans for 2 hours, I’ll add in more veggies like Sweet Potato, and cook another 20 minutes until the veggies are tender.

After that, I turn off the heat and add the delicate veggies. Like Corn, Green Beans, and Kale. Then just let them sit, covered, and let the heat of the soup bring them gently into the mix.

You can cook your pasta right in this if you want. I don’t. I don’t like mushy pasta the next day. I keep them separate and combine them in the bowl. But that’s just me!