Best Eggplant Minestrone Recipes

ITALIAN MINESTRONE SOUP

Steps:

• In a large pot add a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, roughly chopped onion, carrots, celery, garlic clove, and pancetta cubes. Sautee on medium heat for a few minutes stirring a couple of times in the process.
• Add potatoes, butternut squash, tomatoes, bay leaf, rosemary sprigs and a couple of pinches of salt.
• Give a nice stir and add enough water to cover all the veggies.Bring to a boil and simmer on low heat for 40 minutes. Add more liquid if needed.
• Past this time veggies will become super soft and will "melt" one into another creating delicious creamy texture.
• Once veggies are cooked add chopped savoy cabbage or other leafy greens and drained canned beans. Add more water if needed. Give a nice stir and cook for another 15 minutes.
• As a last step, add pasta or rice. Let cook for 5-15 more minutes depending on how long pasta or rice will take to cook.
• If you're not planning to serve minestrone right away, don't add pasta or rice immediately.Instead, bring the soup to a boil when you're ready to serve it and then add pasta or rice.
• Minestrone is ready to serve when pasta (rice) is cooked. I takes about 5-6 minutes for ditalini pasta and about 15 minutes for rice.
• Serve hot or warm generously topped with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

MOLLY O'NEILL'S SUMMER MINESTRONE

Steps:

• Cut the eggplant into 1-inch cubes. Place in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Weight the eggplant with a can placed on a small plate and set the colander in the sink to drain for at least 1 hour. Then rinse the cubes thoroughly and pat dry with paper towels.
• Cut the potato and carrot into cubes the same size as the eggplant. Cut the peppers in half lengthwise, discard the seeds and white membrane and slice thinly.
• Turn the heat to medium-high and add the the oil to a big heavy saucepan. Saute the eggplant and potato for about 5 minutes, or until they just start to brown along the edges. Stir in the onion and celery, lower the heat to medium-low and continue to cook, stirring, until the onion softens and starts to turn golden. Add the carrot, chard, green beans and pepper and stir to combine well.
• Add 1/2 cup hot water to the pan, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, zucchini and the aromatics along with the chili pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning. Cover and cook for 30 minutes, adding small amounts of water from time to time if necessary. Remove the bay leaf and serve immediately.