Ribollita (minestrone With Bread)

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 6 slices french bread or 6 slices italian bread
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, more if desired
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 2 celery ribs, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 roasted red pepper, cut in strips, more if desired
• 2 small zucchini, sliced
• 4 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary (2 teaspoons - 1 tablespoon dried)
• 8 cups escarole, cored & coarsely chopped (1 large or 2 small heads)
• 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 2 cups low-fat chicken broth or 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper

Recipe

• 1 pre-heat the broiler. place bread slices on cookie sheet, broil until golden, turning once, about 2 to 3 minutes. remove bread and rub slices with 1 clove garlic. sprinkle each slice of bread with parmesan and place back under broiler until cheese is bubbly and golden, 1 to 2 minutes. set aside.
• 2 if you prefer serving the bread on the side, wait until the soup is ready to eat, and then follow the instructions above except toast only one side.
• 3 cook the base vegetables. heat olive oil in a large soup pot to medium high. add carrots, onion, celery and garlic, and cook until carrots are almost tender, stirring often, about 10 minutes.
• 4 add zucchini, red pepper and mushrooms. toss in the rosemary sprig. stir and cook until zucchini is tender, about 5 minutes more.
• 5 add the escarole, beans, tomatoes and broth. cook until escarole is just wilted, about five minutes or until escarole is no longer bitter. reduce heat to a simmer.
• 6 remove rosemary sprig, taste and season to taste with kosher salt and fresh black pepper. ladle soup over garlic parmesan toast and serve immediately -or- serve soup with hot garlic-parm bread on the side.