LESLIE BUDEWITZ: You all know I love recreating dishes at home that I’ve enjoyed out and about. On my way back from Left Coast Crime in San Francisco, I had a layover in the Salt Lake City airport, plenty long for a sit-down lunch. As I was being seated, I watched a bowl of minestrone go by, and decided that would be perfect. It was, especially with the fresh ciabatta and the plate of fruity olive oil and balsamic vinegar served with it. I’d had, and made, minestrone many times, of course. But this bowl was a little different, with an appealing, flavor-rich texture that came, I thought, from a combination of chopped tomatoes and tomato sauce. I wasn’t exactly sure how to recreate that, but using a combo of canned chopped tomatoes and marinara turned out pretty well. Next time, I think I’d use a large can of crushed tomatoes and a small can of petite diced tomatoes for even better results.
Minestrone often includes red beans, but my inspiration soup didn’t use them so neither did I. I did copy the double dose of pasta, putting some in the soup and placing others around the rim of the bowl, like pearls. A flatter pasta or soup bowl works well for that. I added the zucchini near the end, so it didn’t turn to mush. I also noticed that in addition to grated Parm on top, some cheese had been blended into the soup, probably just before serving, as it hadn’t melted. That added a wonderful bit of savory or umami that I highly recommend!
I make my own Italian herb blend; you can find the recipe here. But any commercial blend or your preferred combo of dried herbs will work beautifully. If you use water rather than vegetable broth, pour it into your tomato can to get that last bit of flavor!
Serve with fresh Italian bread and a glass of Chianti or Pinot Grigio for a quick trip to Italy, no airport—and no shoes—required!
Buon appetivo!
PS: I finally figured out how to embed a PDF of the recipe for easy printing.
Scroll down to the 💕 for the link.
Tomato Lovers’ Minestrone
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced or diced
2-3 stalks celery, sliced
2-3 carrots, diced
1 - 28 ounce can chopped OR crushed tomatoes
1 cup tomato sauce, plus more to taste OR 1 - 15 ounce can small, chopped tomatoes
2 cups vegetable broth or water
1-2 tablespoons Italian herbs
Kosher salt to taste
1 cup dried pasta, such as shells or orecchietti
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, for the soup, plus more for serving
In a large stockpot (6-8 quart), heat the olive oil and add the onion. Saute until it begins to soften and add the garlic, sauteeing a minute or so, until the garlic becomes fragrant but before it browns. Add the celery and carrots and continue to saute, reducing the heat if necessary, until the celery and carrots begin to soften, about 5 minutes, stirring as needed to prevent stuck bits.
Add the chopped tomatoes and sauce, or the crushed and chopped tomatoes, and the broth. Add the herbs and stir to blend; taste and salt if necessary.
Bring to a low boil, then add the zucchini. Reduce heat and simmer 25-30 minutes. (You can also turn off the heat at this point and return to the soup a few minutes before you’re ready to eat.)
Meanwhile, cook the pasta. Drain and add to the stockpot, reserving enough to top each bowl with a ring of pretty pasta.
Stir in 1/4 cup Parmesan. Taste and adjust seasonings. Ladle into bowls, using a spoon or fork to place reserved pasta around the edge of the each bowl.
Serve with additional Parmesan. Enjoy!
Serves 6-8.
At Seattle Spice Shop, owner Pepper Reece has whipped up the perfect blend of food, friends, and flavor. But the sweet smell of success can be hazardous . . .
Spring is in full bloom in Pike Place Market, where Pepper is celebrating lavender’s culinary uses and planning a festival she hopes will become an annual event. When her friend Lavender Liz offers to share tips for promoting the much-loved—and occasionally maligned—herb, Pepper makes a trek to the charming town of Salmon Falls. But someone has badly damaged Liz’s greenhouse, throwing a wrench in the feisty grower’s plans for expansion. Suspicions quickly focus on an employee who’s taken to the hills.
Then Liz is found dead among her precious plants, stabbed by a pruning knife. In Salmon Falls, there’s one in every pocket.
Pepper digs in, untangling the tensions between Liz and a local restaurateur with eyes on a picturesque but neglected farm, a jealous ex-boyfriend determined to profit from Liz’s success, and a local growers’ cooperative. She’s also hot on the scent of a trail of her own, sniffing out the history of her sweet dog, Arf.
As Pepper’s questions threaten to unearth secrets others desperately want to keep buried, danger creeps closer to her and those she loves. Can Pepper root out the killer, before someone nips her in the bud?
ALL GOD'S SPARROWS AND OTHER STORIES: A STAGECOACH MARY FIELDS COLLECTION, now available in in paperback and ebook
Take a step back in time with All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection of historical short mysteries, featuring the Agatha-Award winning "All God's Sparrows" and other stories imagining the life of real-life historical figure Mary Fields, born into slavery in 1832, during the last thirty years of her life, in Montana. Out September 17, 2024 from Beyond the Page Publishing.
“Finely researched and richly detailed, All God’s Sparrows and Other Stories is a wonderful collection. I loved learning about this fascinating woman . . . and what a character she is! Kudos to Leslie Budewitz for bringing her to life so vividly.” —Kathleen Grissom, New York Times bestselling author of Crow Mary
Available at Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * and your local booksellers!
A past president of Sisters in Crime and former national board member of Mystery Writers of America, Leslie lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine.
Swing by Leslie's website and join the mailing list for her seasonal newsletter. And join her on Facebook where she shares book news and giveaways from her writer friends, and talks about food, mysteries, and the things that inspire her.
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