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You know that old saying “eat your veggies”? Well, let’s eat our freaking veggies with this Minestrone Verde Soup, shall we?
This soup here, a take on Minestrone soup with an extra green veggie kick, is so full of nutrients that you should take a picture of it and send it to your doctor just to prove how great of a patient you really are.
I also added a cup of Orzo (looks like rice, is actually pasta) to my soup for two reasons: First off, it makes it heartier and more filling and secondly, tossing it directly into the soup to cook thickens the soup to make it absolutely scrumptious. You can certainly opt to omit the orzo if you are wanting to keep your Minestrone Verde Soup grain-free, but I can’t recommend it enough. A little pasta never hurt anyone, right?
Be sure to try my Tuscan Ribollita Soup and Spring Green Minestrone, too!
- 4 ounces pancetta, diced small
- 1 1/2 cups yellow onion, finely diced (or 1/2 large onion)
- 1 cup celery, diced small (or 2 stalks)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 cups zucchini, diced large (or 1 medium zucchini)
- 2 cups of trimmed green beans, loosely chopped (about 10 ounces)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 [14.5 ounce] can Diced, Fire Roasted Tomatoes
- 4 cups chopped kale (or 1/2 head kale, i use lacinto kale)
- 1 cup orzo pasta
- 2 tablespoons store-bought or homemade Basil Pesto
- Heat a dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. When hot, add the diced pancetta and cook, stirring, until cooked through and slightly crisp, about 5 minutes.
- Add the onions, celery, and garlic and saute, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add the zucchini, green beans, kosher salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes and continue sauteeing, stirring, until slightly tender, about 5 minutes.
- Pour in the broth and diced tomatoes and bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer.
- While simmering, add the chopped kale and orzo to the soup and cook, stirring occasionally, until the orzo is tender, about 9 minutes.
- Stir in the pesto. Taste and adjust seasonings if desired.
- Reheating notes: With time, the orzo likes to soak up a lot of the broth. When reheating (on the stovetop or in the microwave) I recommend adding additional broth to make it more soupy again.
Made this today for lunch and to eat leftovers for one or two lunches during the week. It was good, and we liked the pancetta in it. Next time, I might try to roast my own fresh tomatoes as the canned ones I had ended up adding more acidity than I would have liked to the overall flavor. That said, recipe made for a healthy and hearty bowl.
My family and I love this soup! I make it what seems like weekly during the winter months. I omit pancetta and we don’t miss the meat at all. I’m sure it’d be amazing with pancetta, but my local grocery store doesn’t carry it. It’s such a flavorful and easy meal for weeknights. It’s great for lunch the next day, too. Sometimes the orzo soaks up a lot of the liquid like the recipe mentions but it still tastes amazing!