Quick lentil and orzo minestrone soup
Minestrone is a thick Italian soup made with vegetables and often pasta or rice. While it is usually made out of whatever vegetables are in season, common ingredients include beans, onions, celery, carrots, stock, and tomatoes. It can be vegetarian or feature meat, and often contains a vegetable or meat-based broth. There is no set recipe for minestrone but some Minestrone purists might argue that a true Minestrone should have tomatoes, beans and pasta of some sort.
The roots of Minestrone are not glamourous. Some of the earliest documented origins of the soup pre-date the Roman Empire. In those times, the local diet was often vegetarian by necessity and consisted mostly of vegetables, like onions, lentils, cabbage, garlic, broad beans, mushrooms, carrots, asparagus, and turnips. During this time, the main dish of a meal would have been pulte, a simple but filling porridge of spelt flour cooked in salt water, to which whatever available vegetables would have been added.
Quick lentil and orzo minestrone soup
6 cups water
1 ½ cups dried lentils
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 small zucchinis, chopped
1 ½ cups of marinara sauce
4 scallions sliced
2 ribs of celery, chopped
1 cup of orzo pasta
2 cups spinach, kale, swiss chard, cabbage, bok choy or other cooking greens
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Combine the water, lentils, tomatoes, zucchini and marinara sauce in a large pot and bring to a simmer. While the soup is simmering, sauté the scallions and celery in a pan with two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat for 5 minutes then add to the simmering soup. Simmer the soup for 20 minutes then add the spinach, or other greens if using. Add the orzo and continue cooking for 10 minutes until it is tender. Add the vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper.