If you love to cook, you undoubtedly have a few favorite cookbooks. You know…the ones with the cracked binding and the grease spotted cover and the dog-eared pages. The ones with ingredients highlighted and comments scribbled in the margins.
Yesterday I pulled out one of my old favorites, Classic Italian Cooking, by the late Marcella Hazan. This book is dear to me not only for the wonderful 
recipes and Ms. Hazan’s entertaining and opinionated asides about Italy and its culture (“A vegetable soup will tell you where you are in Italy almost as precisely as a map…”) but also because I’ve owned it for as long as Geoff and I have been married. In fact, it was a wedding present from my ex-husband Jerry and his wife Karol, who over the years have become part of our extended family.
The recipe I wanted yesterday was Minestrone di Romagna, and I’ve made it so many times that I really don’t need to follow the book. Besides, I always think that making soup is like a good road trip…you don’t know exactly where you’re going till you get there.
The recipe below is the original, but I always make a few turns that aren’t on the map. Like throwing a few cloves of garlic in with the onions. You’re cooking over such a low heat that there’s no danger of burning it. Also I never measure soup ingredients in cups. For this recipe I used one medium onion, three slender carrots, three stalks of celery, two medium Yukon Gold potatoes and two medium zucchini. The fresh green beans at the store looked limp and sad, so I bought a package of frozen organic ones and used a couple of handfuls. Since they’ve already been blanched I added them with the cannellini beans. For the tomatoes, I used the whole can. Why leave half a can in the fridge to get moldy and then thrown away? And I can’t abide mushy zucchini, so I always add it about fifteen minutes before I turn off the heat. I know that’s not traditional, but I’m not a traditional kind of girl.
In her directions, Ms. Hazan admonishes us, “It is not necessary to prepare all the vegetables ahead of time although you may do so if it suits you. The vegetables don’t go into pot all at once, but in the sequence indicated, and while one vegetable is cooking you can peel and cut another. I find this method more efficient and less tedious…and somehow it produces a better soup.”
As a baker, I’m a firm believer in the mise en place…that is, having everything measured out and ready to use before you start. So the first few times I made this soup I did it my way. Then, one time for whatever reason, I tried doing it Marcella’s way, and I found it compelling…if you can use that term about chopping vegetables.
There’s something totally involving about the scent of the onions (and garlic) sizzling slowly and quietly in fragrant olive oil while you’re methodically chopping the carrots into small cubes. Then you add the carrots to the pot and move on to the celery, then the potatoes…and so on. It’s like a dance between cutting board and stove. The timing seems to work out perfectly, and your brain drops back into neutral and…it’s very much like meditating.
Marcella Hazan’s Minestrone di Romagna
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup thinly slice yellow onion
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
2 cups peeled, diced potatoes
¼ pound fresh green beans
2 cups diced zucchini
3 cups shredded Savoy cabbage or regular cabbage
1 ½ cups canned cannellini beans, drained, or ¾ cup dried white beans, soaked and cooked
6 cups Basic Homemade Meat Broth
Optional (but recommended): the crust from a piece of parmigiano-reggiano cheese
2/3 cup canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, with their juice
Salt
1/3 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
Choose a stockpot that can comfortably accommodate all the ingredients. Put in the oil, butter, and sliced onion and turn on the heat to medium low. Cook over low heat until the onion wilts and becomes a pale gold, but don’t let it brown.
Add the diced carrots and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring once or twice. Then add the celery, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 or 3 minute. Add the potatoes, repeating the same procedure.
While the carrots, celery, and potatoes are cooking, soak the green beans in cold water, rinse, snap off both ends, and dice them.
Add the diced green beans to the pot, and when they have cooked for 2 or 3 minutes, add the zucchini. Continue to give all the ingredients an occasional stir and, after another few minutes, add the shredded cabbage. Continue cooking for another 5 to 6 minutes.
Add the broth, the optional cheese crust, the tomatoes with their juice, and a sprinkling of salt. If using canned broth, salt lightly at this stage, and taste and correct for salt later on. Give the contents of the pot a thorough stirring. Cover the pot, and lower the heat, adjusting it so that the soup bubbles slowly, cooking at a steady but gentle simmer.
When the soup has cooked for 2 ½ hours, add the drained, cooked cannellini beans, stir well, and cook for at least another 30 minutes. If necessary, you can turn off the heat at any time and resume the cooking later. Cook until the consistency is fairly dense. Minestrone ought never to be thin and watery. If you should find that the soup is becoming too thick before it has finished cooking, you can dilute it with a bit of broth.
When the soup is done, just before you turn off the heat, remove the cheese crust, swirl in the grated cheese, then taste and correct for salt. Serve in heated bowls with a sprinkling of parmigiano, a quick grind of black pepper, and a drizzle of good olive oil. And of course, don’t forget some good, crusty bread.
Like most soups, this one only gets better the second and third days, but it was delicious last night as an accompaniment to my Christmas cookie list making.
Judi, i am enchanted with with the “Bread” books and the “Laws of Harmony”, and have just started Isabel’s Daughter. I keep going back to Harmony and thinking of and almost tasting the Blackberry Brownies. I tried a recipe I found online, but I promise you that they would win no blue ribbon. Do you have a recipe for those brownies, or was it your dream, too?
Claudia–
Hi, and thanks so much for your kind words about my books. You know, it’s a funny thing about those brownies…I do have a recipe. Somewhere. I keep meaning to reorganize my kitchen files…hahaha
I know it’s here someplace, and I will find it and post it for you. Meanwhile, I’m thrilled that you’ve enjoyed my books, and I deeply appreciate your taking the time to visit my website and leave a comment.
A family favorite. A treasured recipe!
Lucia–Thanks so much for taking the time to visit my website and leave a comment. I do love this recipe…although right now with the temperature nudging upwards of 90, it’s hard to remember those chilly winter days!
Hi Judi. Just wondering, does one need to go to your events to hear about the stories behind your books? Is it fair to ask what parts are autobiographical? I’ve loved all of your books & find “Baker’s Blues” especially touching. It must have been difficult to write. My family experienced mental health issues & the regrets and questions never quite go away. Not to be dreary, I enjoy the baking stories and the beauty of Orcas: I’m never going to bake bread but I have had a chance to see the San Juans. (There is a movie with Rosie O’Donnell as a cop that I watch solely to see the islands. Thanks.
Hi, Li
I just want to say thank you for this lovely comment. When we’re wrapped up in our own lives, it’s sometimes easy to forget that we’re not alone. I’ve had comments and emails from many readers whose lives have been touched by depression and other mental health issues. Baker’s Blues was indeed difficult to write in some ways, but when I finished, I felt a great sense of lightness, as if I’d been relieved of a burden. My novels are fiction (for the most part) but it’s also true that everything I write is filtered through my experience. I think it’s inescapable. I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed my books, and I appreciate your taking the time to let me know. And what is the name of that Rosie O’Donnell movie? Sounds like one I need to see!
Thank you for your comments–I’m glad that I did not offend. There is something about islands. I live on an island surrounded by a LOT of water—Oahu. I guess that’s why I liked “Stakeout” w/ the endless water going who knows where. (By the by in Hawaii we have been watching where “those” waters go. Debris from the Japanese tsunami is already showing up on our shores &, I believe, the west coast. We even sent a boat back to Japan in hopes that it would ease some pain.) Much aloha!
P.S. Don’t watch “Another Stakeout” which has moved its locale away from the water. I believe “Stakeout” is available for streaming on places like Amazon.
I absolutely LOVE your books. I first read Bread Alone and devoured it (excuse the pun)! I have re-read it a couple more times because I enjoyed it so much. I have since read all your books and can’t wait for your next book. I have looked up authors who wrist in a style similar to yours and have yet to find one that I like as much as you. Are there any authors out there that you would recommend?
And I absolutely LOVE your quilts! I checked out your website and I love the way you use vintage designs but make them your own. I have no idea what needle-turn applique is, but they’re so whimsical, which really appeals to me. I also can totally relate to your saying that the result can be different from the original idea, because that’s exactly the way I work. The book I start is never the book I finish.
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment and letting me know you enjoyed my books; it means a great deal to me. As for other writers I enjoy, there are so many…but a few are Jo-Ann Mapson, Kate Atkinson, Margaret Mahy, Elin Hilderbrand, Salley Vickers, Liane Moriarty and Tana French. It’s a pretty diverse group, but I’ve spent many happy hours in their company.
Thanks again; you’ve made my day…
I read your first two books long ago………..loved them and really related to your writing. I love to bake (altho certainly not at your level), and I am fascinated by the thought of working in a bakery. Another side…..I was not yet a grandmother, but I loved the title “oma”….which you referred to often.
Now……years later…..I have found your third book and am enjoying it. I am also
Oma to a beautiful seven year old granddaughter. Your books have made me want to visit Seattle, and that’s on my bucket list. I would really love for you to publish a cook book! Thanks for the joy you give your readers.
Hi, Susan–
Thanks so much for your comment. I’m delighted that you’ve enjoyed my books and I appreciate your taking the time to let me know.
I’m currently working on another novel and have toyed with doing a cookbook with a friend of mine who’s a food blogger, but that’s a big project which we’ve (so far) only fantasized about.
Interesting about the term “Oma.” My family is not German, but we have good friends who are and when my brother’s first child was born, our German friends christened my parents Oma and Opa, and it’s been that way ever since.
Thanks again for visiting my website!
I have read (multiple times) and loved every one of your books, so imagine my excitement to discover Baker’s Blues just yesterday! Somehow I missed the release date, but now have my nose buried and am loving it. And your minestrone looks delicious. I plan to have a pot of it bubbling on my stove very soon. Thank you for nourishing mind and body!
Hi, Roseanne–
Thanks so much for this! It’s been a crazy year and I can’t believe it’s almost over. So glad you enjoyed Baker’s Blues, and I do appreciate your taking the time to let me know. It means a lot to me.
I’m working on some Portuguese soup now and baking like mad. Writing a bit whenever I get a chance. I wish you a wonderful holiday surrounded by family and friends. Peace and good health in 2016.
Last night (past my bedtime!) I finished Baker’s Blues and feel compelled to add how beautiful the final paragraphs were. Wynter’s’ take on the quote about great dogs and true loves was spot on. Happy holidays to you too, and so happy to know you have another book in the works! You are one of my very favorite authors, and I love being able to tell you so.
Today I finished Baker’s Blues – I have read all three of the baker trilogy in just under two weeks, that’s how good they are!
You rekindled my desire to finally learn to make bread. I started with Jen’s short scones – wonderful! I then tried my hand at making a poolish and the Pain de Campagne. First poolish batch got thrown out Second one was good, and the bread was AMAZING! My husband couldn’t believe how beautiful they were and how great they tasted. This week I am trying Tyler’s Indian Maiden Bread and another batch of the country French. Just made my first attempt at a Chef – stay tuned. And, am going to start a new sourdough “mother”. Would love any recommendations for good break cookbooks.
Keep writing – I will keep reading and baking.
Hi, Susan
What a nice comment! I’m delighted that you’re trying some of the bread recipes. Sometimes when I get totally stressed out, baking is what saves me.
As for bread books…one of my all time favorites is Bread Alone by Daniel Leader. I also like anything by Peter Reinhart, The Italian Baker by Carol Field, and The Bread Bible by Ruth Levy Berenbaum.
I will definitely keep writing, and I know you will keep baking. It’s really addictive. Thanks so much for the kind words about my books–I’m about half way through a first draft of #6–and I so appreciate your taking the time to visit my website! All best…
I just wanted to leave a comment about your writing, Judi. I have read all the “baker” books, ending with Baker’s Blues, and I have loved all of them. You have a real talent for writing believable characters in realistic lives. Please give me another installment of Wyn and Alex, or Wyn and whomever. Thanks for the hours of reading enjoyment!
Hi, Becky–Thanks for the lovely comment. I’m delighted that you’ve enjoyed the bakery series and I so appreciate your taking the time to let me know. Right now I’m working on a stand alone novel set in Santa Fe…but after that, who knows! I wish you and you family and friends a joyous holiday season.
Sounds delicious! We are expecting El Nino this winter and if it ever gets here that soup would be perfect for a rainy day. But today we are eating turkey noodle soup with lot’s of veggies .
Always nice to see your name pop up, Tina! I love turkey soup, too. Actually I love just about anything with turkey. Keeping my fingers crossed for the El Nino!
Happy holidays to you and your family.