Lisa's Spicy and Spectacular Minestrone
I came up with this recipe 25+ years ago. My 'secret ingredient' is SPICY V-8 juice. It absolutely takes a good soup to greatness! Every time I have made this over the years, people would ask me for the recipe, so it has been 'out there' for quite a long time. In fact, one of my colleagues published it in her church cookbook, (with my blessing). ;-) One last thing--you can use whatever pastas and vegetables you have on hand.
Ingredients
- 1 large onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb Italian sausage, cooked and drained I use half sweet and half hot Italian sausage
- 2 cans beef consommé may substitute vegetable, chicken or beef broth
- 1 large bottle Spicy V-8 juice this is the SECRET ingredient!
- 1 can garbonzo, small white, kidney or black beans
- 1 can diced tomatoes with juices
- 3 stalks celery chopped
- 2 carrots sliced or diced
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- zucchini, yellow squash, cauliflower, potatoes cut into bite size pieces
- black olives optional
- cheese tortillini, broken lasagna noodles, penne, etc. Cooked and reserved
- Parmesan cheese freshly grated
- Fresh basil leaves torn
Instructions
- Brown Italian Sausage with olive oil in heavy pan over medium high heat.Add and sauté onion until soft. Add garlic and cook for an additional minute.Add beef consommé, (or broth), V-8 juice, tomatoes, celery, carrots, potatoes and seasonings and cook for about 20 minutes. Add squash, (if using), black olives, (if using), and beans to warm through.Place cooked pasta in serving bowls, ladle the soup over the pasta and top with freshly torn basil leaves and parmesan cheese. Serve with warm, crusty bread.