Minestrone

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 1 cup thinly sliced yellow onion
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup diced celery
• 2 cups peeled, diced potatoes
• 1 1/2 cups fresh white beans, if available or 1 1/2 cups canned cannellini beans or Great Northern beans or 3/4 dried white beans, cooked
• 2 cups diced zucchini ( about 2 medium zucchini)
• 1 cup diced green beans
• 3 cups shredded cabbage
• 6 cups Homemade Meat broth or 2 cups canned beef broth mixed with 4 cups water
the crust from a 1 or 2 pound piece of Parmesan cheese, carefully scraped clean (optional)
• 2/3 cups canned Italian tomatoes, with their juice
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Choose a stockpot large enough for all the ingredients. Put in the oil, butter and sliced onion and cook over medium-low heat until the onion wilts and is pale gold in color but not browned. Add the diced carrots and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring once or twice. Repeat the procedure with the celery, potatoes, white beans (if you are using fresh beans), zucchini, and green beans, cooking each one a few minutes and stirring. Then add the shredded cabbage and cook for about 6 minutes giving the pot an occasional stir.
2. Add the broth, the cheese crust, the tomatoes and their juice, and a little bit of salt. (Go easy on the salt especially if you are using canned broth. You can correct the seasoning later.) Cover and cook at a very slow boil for at least 3 hours. If necessary, you can stop the cooking at any time and resume it later on. Minestrone should never be thin and watery, so cook until it is soupy thick. If you should find that the soup is becoming too thick, you can add another cup of homemade broth or water. Do not add more canned broth.
3. Fifteen minutes before the soup is done, add the canned or cooked dry beans (if you are not using fresh ones). Just before turning off the heat, remove the cheese crust and swirl in the grated cheese, then taste and correct for salt.