cooking for others … Classic Minestrone

Last month, I spent a chunk of time caring for my mother, post surgery. This essentially consisted of me complaining how hot it was (115°F), cajoling her to do all her physical therapy, eating as much Mexican food as possible and cooking up a storm. I wanted to fill her freezer with easy meals that could be simply reheated in the coming weeks; healthy, comforting dishes that both she and other friends and family members could easily heat up for lunches and dinners without much fuss.

I started with asking her what she’d like. It went a little something like this: “Anything you’d like to make, honey.” Um, ok but I need some direction. This went back an forth for a while before she finally said ”You’re a chef! Make something!” To which I replied: “When was the last time you walked into a restaurant and said ‘make me whatever you want.’” That would be NEVER. After much back and forth snark, we finally settled on a list of consisting of soups and saucy things.

I went though my mental cookbook, thinking of things that would not only freeze, but reheat well and easily for someone with limited mobility. Soups went on the list first – tomato, minestrone, chicken and wild rice and a pho broth. I stocked the pantry with chicken stock and added homemade wontons to my list. My mom always made those for my sister and I when we were sick, so I returned the favor. I froze the soups flat in ziploc bags to maximize freezer space; all she had to do was add noodles and any garnishes if needed.

Easy meals were up next. Chicken pot pies are always a favorite so I made a few. Tomato sauce was the obvious choice – both a straight marinara and a version with Italian sausage. One day I made and froze a batch of potato gnocchi, thinking a break from the typical pasta and noodles would be a nice change with the sauces. Rounding out the list were a batch of Swedish meatballs, with a bag of egg noodles to accompany tucked in the pantry, and some bbq chicken bao, steamed Chinese buns that could be easily reheated in the microwave for a quick snack. I left the freezer full, my mom in the care of my sister and headed home.

A few days later, I got a call from my mother praising all the food and asking for the minestrone recipe. It’s an easy one, basically everything dumped into the pot with some water. It’s loosely based on a Cooks Illustrated recipe with a few things removed, a few things added and a few things streamlined. I like that it uses water rather than stock and is easily adaptable to what you have on hand. While I like kale, I often use swiss chard (throwing the chopped stems in at the beginning) and spinach too. Cannellini beans are called for, though any white bean works as do garbanzo beans. I almost always add more pesto than called for, digging around in my freezer for the little baggies I stuff in there at the end of the season but purchased pesto works just fine too.

If you buy big hunks of parmigiano-reggiano (and you should), save the rinds. I’ve recently discovered that the fancy cheese department of my local store grates their own parmesan and sells the rinds for cheap. Ask – they freeze beautifully. Drop one into the pot to add a nice layer of flavor then, when it’s soft and warm after an hour of simmering, dice it up into little pieces and add back to the soup for a nice surprise. If you don’t have a rind, no worries, some grated parmesan can stand in at the start.

Now about the pasta as it’s an important finishing touch to this soup. It needs to be a small shape – I prefer ditalini (little tubes) but small shells or elbow macaroni work too. Now this is the most important takeaway: add the pasta, fully cooked, just before serving. Don’t add them early, don’t cook them in the soup, and most definitely don’t freeze the soup with the pasta in it. No. Don’t do it. Pasta that sits in soup absorbs too much liquid, bloats and gets mushy. It is much, much better to cook separately and add just before serving. If you plan on cooking for someone, include a box of pasta in the bag. If you want to provide cooked pasta, do it separately, toss in a little olive oil and put in a separate container. The soup will be so much better for it.

STRESS THERAPY BAKING FACTOR: SOUP BOWLS OF LOVE. There’s something that feels good about cooking for others, especially those in recovery. I do this every so often for those post-surgery, in the midst of chemotherapy or just home with a new baby. I’ve learned that good food is always welcome and this soup has been a mainstay in my delivery system. It’s warm and comforting, familiar and everyone seems to like it, essentially a safe bet. The soup freezes very well and is easy to make which is important in these situations. Now is not the time to bust out those overly complicated recipes you’ve been saving for a special occasion. With fall descending and at the beginning of Unprocessed October (swearing off processed food for the month), it’s a great time to put the big pot on the burner and get to chopping.

Good things for cooking for others: Chicken Pot Pies, Won Tons, Tomato Soup, BBQ Chicken Bao, Chicken & Wild Rice Soup, Navy Bean Soup, Quiche Lorraine, Greek Meatballs, Confetti Pork Stew,
ten years ago: Chocoflan, Sour Cream Coffeecake, Apple Pear Crisp
nine years ago: Peach Frozen Custard, Blueberry Raspberry Cobbler
eight years ago: Sweet Corn Soup, Plum Kuchen
seven years ago: Unprocessed October (2012)
six years ago: Roasted Ratatouille with Sweet Corn Polenta
five years ago: Aunt Patti’s Cornbread, Unprocessed October (2014)
four years ago: Grilled Zucchini with Garlic Herb Gremolata, Machaca – Mexican Shredded Beef, Machaca Enchiladas, Small Batch Spiced Plum Butter, Unprocessed October (2015) – Easy No Knead Olive Bread
three years ago: German Apple Cheese Torte
two years ago: Miso Butterscotch Blondies, Rosemary White Beans with Toasted Breadcrumbs, Tabbouleh Salad, Unprocessed October – Round 7
last year: Asian Flavored Pickled Watermelon Rin

CLASSIC MINESTRONE
Serves 6-8
The vegetables are somewhat basic and a little interchangeable though I avoid potatoes as they don’t freeze particularly well. If using swiss chard, be sure to through the chopped stems in with the first round of vegetables. If you don’t have a parmesan rind handy, use grated.

1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes packed in juice (not puree), crushed by hand
1 small leek, white and light green parts quartered crosswise and sliced thin (about ¾ cup)
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into small dice
1 small onion, peeled and cut into small dice
1 large celery stalk, trimmed and cut into small dice
8 cups water
1 parmesan cheese rind, about 5” x 2” (or 2 Tablespoons grated parmesan)
1 teaspoon kosher salt + more to taste
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 medium zucchini, trimmed and cut into medium dice
1 ½ cups kale, swiss chard or stemmed spinach leaves, cut into thin strips
1 (15 oz) can garbanzo or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
¼ cup basil pesto

for serving:
small cooked pasta – ditalini, small shells or elbows
grated parmesan
good olive oil

1. For the soup: add the tomatoes a large heavy bottomed pot and crush by hand into smaller pieces.
2. Add the leek, carrot, onion, celery, water, cheese rind (or grated cheese), salt and pepper to the pot and bring a boil.
3. Reduce the heat to medium-low; simmer, slightly covered and stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender but still hold their shape, about 1 hour.
4. Add the zucchini, kale/chard/spinach and beans; cook until just heated through, about 5 minutes.
5. Remove the pot from heat.
6. Remove the cheese rind (if using), cut into small pieces and add back to the pot.
7. Stir in the pesto, taste and adjust the seasonings if needed.
8. Before serving: add pasta and stir until heated through. Drizzle bowls with olive oil and a pinch of grated parmesan.
9. Do ahead: soup can be refrigerated for 3 days or frozen for several months (withoutthe pasta). Defrost and reheat, adding the pasta just before serving.