Tuesday 15th September 2020.

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September 15, 2020

It is Feisty Foodie day, in the last hour we connect up with Sara in Canada and for today’s recipe it is her homemade Minestrone.

Sara’s Minestrone soup

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 large onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 large carrot, diced

1 zucchini, unpeeled diced

1 can of cannellini beans, half pureed, half whole

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes

1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes

1 cup frozen spinach

1 and a half boxes of organic beef broth

1 ½ cup whole grain pasta shells

1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

Parmesan rind

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Pinch of crushed red chili peppers

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the celery, carrots, zucchini, spinach and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the , dried oregano and basil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste; cook 3 more minutes.
Add the diced and crushed tomatoes, the beef broth and Parmesan rind to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in the cannellini beans and puree and simmer 5 minutes.
Add pasta and cook until the pasta and vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and a pinch of red chili flakes. Ladle into bowls and top with the grated parmesan and chopped fresh basil.

TIP: Make sure your vegetables are diced carefully and evenly. It makes for a great presentation, better mouth-feel and even cooking. I like a ½- 3/4 inch dice.

Then for some reason we got on to the subject of scones and Devonshire tea’s with scone’s, clotted cream and strawberry jam! Delicious. We got into all sorts of discussion about the cream and Paul Dixon from the UK sent over a good link for making scones and the question, which goes on first the cream or the jam?

Check out the scone recipe here. (BBC scone recipe)

By the way the answer…..

The Devonian, or Devonshire, method is to split the scone in two, cover each half with clotted cream, and then add strawberry jam on top. … With the Cornish method, the warm ‘bread split’ or a ‘scone’ is first split in two, then spread with strawberry jam, and finally topped with a spoonful of clotted cream.