ITALIAN GARDEN MINESTRONE

Zucchini Flowers
Originally uploaded by Jim-AR

Every summer I look forward to making this garden fresh, vitamin packed italian minestrone. My mother use to make this dish on those cooler summer evenings, when her garden was bursting with a variety of vegetables. Fortunately for me, I payed close attention to the details of how she was preparing these absolutely delicious italian meals for our family. Though, she worked very quickly, without using any measuring tools while preparing these dishes, I have added measurements to her recipes, so I can share them with others.

Ingredients;
1/3 cup of olive oil
4 large cloves of garlic, minced
3 chopped zucchini
3 chopped summer squash
1 medium onion, chopped
3 celery stalks, minced
1 peeled and chopped potato
1 cup of green beans, cut
salt and pepper to taste
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
4 cups vegetable broth
1 Tbsp each of thyme, parsley, and basil
4 cups chopped swiss chard
4 cups chopped escarole
2 cups of cooked navy or pink beans.
8 whole zucchini or squash flowers
2 day old italian or french bread

Place olive oil, garlic, zucchini, summer squash, onion, celery, potato, green beans and salt in a large sauce pan. saute for 15 minutes on medium high heat, stirring often. Add the black pepper, chopped tomatoes, vegetable broth and one tbsp each of thyme, parsley, and basil to the pan. cook on medium heat for 25 minutes covered, stirring occasionally. when the 25 minutes are up add chopped swiss chard, escarole, 2 cups of cooked beans and zucchini flowers to the pan. cover and cook for an additional 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. To serve this dish break up the bread into the individual serving bowls, then pour the minestrone over the bread. If desired grate some asiago, or romano cheese over the top and serve.