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Minestrone

Source of Recipe

From "Beginner's Guide to Canning" by Diane Devereaux


Recipe Introduction

"This hearty soup can be modified to suit your taste buds; feel free to swap out green beans for summer squash or root vegetables, fresh herbs for dried, and great northern beans for kidney beans. When heating to serve, cook pasta (I like shells or ditalini) before adding it to the soup."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
â—¦ 1 large onion, diced (2 cups)
â—¦ 3 celery stalks, diced (1 ½ cups)
â—¦ 8 cloves garlic, minced
â—¦ 2 teaspoons dried oregano
â—¦ 2 teaspoons dried basil
â—¦ 1 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary
â—¦ 1 teaspoon salt (optional)
â—¦ ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
â—¦ 12 cups chicken or vegetable stock
â—¦ 6 medium tomatoes, cored, peeled, and diced (3 cups)
â—¦ ½ pound green beans, fresh or frozen, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (2 ½ cups)
â—¦ 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans (or 1 pint home-canned beans)
â—¦ 4 carrots, peeled and chopped (2 cups)
â—¦ ¾ cup tomato paste, store bought or homemade


Recipe

This recipe is hot packed, so have clean jars resting in hot water.

In a large stockpot, combine the oil, onion, celery, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until the onions become translucent. Add the oregano, basil, rosemary, salt (if using), and pepper. Cook for an additional 2 minutes to bring the herb flavors forward. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes, green beans, kidney beans, and carrots. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer. Stir in the tomato paste and continue to simmer for an additional 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat.

Place the hot jars on a cutting board. Using a funnel, ladle the hot soup into the jars, leaving a 1-inch headspace. Wipe the rim of each jar with a warm washcloth dipped in distilled white vinegar. Place a lid and ring on each jar and hand-tighten.

Fill the pressure canner with 3 quarts of water and add 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar. Place the jars in the pressure canner, lock the pressure canner lid, and bring to a boil over high heat. Let the canner vent for 10 minutes. Close the vent and continue heating to achieve 11 PSI for a dial gauge and 10 PSI for a weighted gauge. Process quarts for 90 minutes and pints for 75 minutes.

After the processing time has been reached, turn off the heat. Allow the pressure in the canner to reach zero on its own, which usually takes about 30 minutes. Safely remove the canner lid and allow the jars to sit for 10 minutes inside the canner before removing.

Makes 5 quarts or 10 pints