Minestone: BIG Beans and Greens Soup

From: Rachel Ray 30-Minute Meals

Ingredients:

• • 1 cup ditalini noodles, cooked until al dente

  • 3 cloves garlic, minced

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (twice around the pan)

  • 1 small yellow onion, peeled and chopped

  • 2 carrots, peeled and diced

  • 2 stalks celery, from the heart, chopped (lots of flavor in the leaves)

  • 1 can (15 ounces) Roman beans, drained (Look in the Spanish or Italian foods section.) or 1 can (15 ounces) red kidney beans, drained

  • 1 can (15 ounces) garbanzo beans, drained

  • 1/4 pound fresh green beans, cut into thirds

  • 1 bunch dandelion greens, about 1 pound, stems trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces (I substitute spinach.)

  • 1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes, drained (I sometimes don't drain mine.)

  • Coarse salt and black pepper, to taste

  • 3 pinches of ground nutmeg

  • 4 cans (14 ounces each) no-fat, low-sodium chicken broth

  • Lots of grated fresh Parmigiano Reggiano or Romano cheese and crusty bread, for the table

Directions:

• 1. Cook ditalini separately as you work on the soup. Drain, rinse, and toss ditalini with a touch of olive oil to prevent sticking when the noodles are cooked until as dente, about 10 minutes.

  2. Heat garlic in olive oil over medium heat. When it speaks, add the onion, carrot, and celery. Sweat vegetables for 5 minutes. Add all other ingredients except ditalini and cheese. Bring soup to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until greens are no longer bitter and green beans are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Place half a cup - a good scoop of noodles - into a shallow bowl. Cover with 1 or 2 cups of hot soup. Sprinkle generously with grated cheese and serve with crusty bread for sopping up liquid.

Makes 6 bowls. Store the noodles and soup separately to keep noodles firm.