I don't know about you, but the cooler weather has been making me crave comfort food like mad, so the other day, I searched foodnetwork.com for a great soup recipe.
When I found Giada's Winter Minestrone recipe (click here for link), which had 181 reviews and five stars, I knew I'd found a winner. It probably helps that I'm a big fan of Giada and have had success with several of her other recipes. Anywho, her recipe starts with lots of fresh veggies (see above).
The veggies are cooked with pancetta. And while we're talking about pancetta, can I tell you that hubby found a cute little container of pancetta all nicely cubed up into itsy-bitsy pieces? What a time saver? He found it at Trader Joe's.
Add some tomatoes, potatoes, and some fresh herbs…smelling good now! Then add broth and a parmesan cheese rind (and some other stuff…check out the recipe link above). The parmesan cheese rind isn't exactly a staple in most people's kitchens, but luckily for me, I've been watching Giada's shows for a couple years now and noticed how she often mentions saving her parmesan rinds in the freezer so she can toss them in soups, so I had one in stock. Save those parmesan rinds, people! 🙂 They add a lot of flavor to soups.
I like to serve soup with big pieces of crusty bread. We're big fans of Rachael Ray's Garlic Bread recipe – it's a staple in our house and super easy. I like to add a pinch of salt to the oil/butter mixture used in the recipe whenever I make it. Yum! If you're looking to make a big pot of comfort soup, these two recipes are sure to fit the bill!