Week 20 - Sometimes Non-Traditional is a Good Thing

One of my loving and supportive big brothers gave me an exciting new pasta cookbook for my birthday so I couldn't resist taking it for a spin. Several recipes caught my eye so you'll be seeing plenty more from the book, but this one seemed like a good start.

While this definitely isn't a "traditional" minestrone, the flavor was outstanding and it is definitely a recipe that could be changed up with different veggies (and probably even meat) added and it would still be very good. 

The ingredients weren't all fun and games - turns out frozen water chestnuts are hard to come by (we skipped those) and frozen red bell peppers are mostly only found in a frozen pepper mix. At least the red ones are easy to pick out. And all in all the ingredients came to about $30 which seemed like a lot, but it's another one that would have easily fed 6 people and made some outstanding leftovers.

CURLY MINESTRONE

Source: Betty Crocker's Pasta Cookbook

1 T. olive or vegetable oil - 1 medium onion, chopped - 1 medium stalk celery, sliced - 1 clove garlic, finely chopped - 2 C. frozen broccoli, cauliflower, water chestnuts and red bell pepper - 1 C. uncooked fusili pasta (3 oz.) - 1/4 chopped fresh parsley or 4 tsp. dried parsley flakes - 1 tsp. dried basil leaves - 1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves - 1/2 tsp. salt - 1/4 tsp. pepper - 3 cans vegetable broth - 1 can Italian-style stewed tomatoes, undrained - 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained - 1/4 C. grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook onion, celery and garlic in oil, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender. Stir in remaining ingredients except cheese. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to medium.

Cook uncovered 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender. Sprinkle each serving with cheese.