Recipe from Ereka Vetrini @erekav on Instagram
Ingredients:
2 celery stalks finely minced
2 medium sized carrots finely minced
1 large sweet yellow onion finely minced
⅓ cup olive oil
2 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp dried rosemary
1 small butternut squash
1 large Yukon gold potato diced
6 cups low sodium vegetable broth (I used chicken broth)
3 cups water
10 thyme sprigs
Parmesan rind (optional)
1½ cups small ditalini pastina
1 large bundle of lacinato (dinosaur) kale or a 12 ounces bag of spinach (I used both only because I didn't read the recipe carefully enough, but adding both kale and spinach was delicious)
1 can cannellini beans drained
1 can cannellini beans blended
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Veggie Preparation:
-To quickly mince the celery, carrots and onion, add them to a food processor and pulse 20-25 times.
-Use a peeler to peel the skin off of your butternut squash. Slice the squash in half, deseed and dice into ½ inch pieces.
-Peel and dice the potato. Remove the ribs from the kale and chop the leaves into small pieces.
-Blend one can of cannellini until smooth. Do not drain the liquid before blending.
Minestrone Instructions:
-To a large pot, add the olive oil, the soffritto (minced celery, carrots and onions), 1salt, pepper and dried rosemary. Sautè over medium heat for 3 minutes then add the butternut squash, potatoes, vegetable broth, 3 cups water, thyme sprigs and parmesan rind. Bring to a boil and let boil for 6 minutes.
-Add the ditalini and cook for 8 minutes more stirring occasionally so the pasta doesn’t still to the bottom of the pot.
-Lower to a simmer then stir in the kale (or spinach), canned and puréed beans. Let simmer for 5 minutes more.
-Serve warm with grated Parmigiano Reggiano.