Slow-cooked beef minestrone

I love my slow cooker.

I especially love to pull it out in the Fall and let the creative juices (literally) flow!

Sometimes I use recipes.

Most of the time I start off with a recipe as a base and then turn it into my own concoction.

 

One of my favorite fall slow-cooker dishes is

Slow-cooked Beef Minestrone.

 

Most minestrones I had growing up were liquidy and soup-like. This one is not as thick as a stew but thicker than a soup and it's super easy to make!

 

 

What you need:

a braising pan

slow cooker  

 

1.5 lbs chuck roast or stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes

1/2 cup uncooked ditalini pasta

5oz baby spinach

28 oz can of crushed tomatoes (unsalted)

1/2 5oz can of tomato paste

16 oz of minestrone soup vegetables (packaged at most grocery stores in the produce section or make your own - onion, cabbage, carrots, green pepper, celery)

32 oz beef stock/broth

15 oz can garbanzo/cannelini beans (rinsed and drained)

 

 

 What you do:

1. Dust beef with pan-searing flour. Pat off excess with a paper towel.
    
2. Heat oil in braising pan on MEDIUM-HIGH until oil faintly smokes. Add beef and sear 10 min until all sides are paper-bag brown.
   
3. Transfer beef to slow cooker but don't discard the pan dripping goodness. Add vegetables to the pan with the drippings and season with black pepper. Cook, stirring, 3 min and then add to slow cooker.
   
4. Add stock, sauce  and paste to slow cooker. Cover, cook 4 1/2-6 hours on HIGH or 8-10 hours on LOW. I tend to enjoy the low cooking method better because it takes longer, the flavors get to meld into each other and your house smells yummy all day. However, if you don't have time (like I didn't this past Sunday) then the high one works just as well.
     
5. 30 minutes before the en dof cooking on HIGH (45 minutes for LOW), add dry pasta and beans. Stir and put the lid back on.
   
6. Add spinach to slow cooker and stir to blend well. Allow spinach to lightly wilt - about 2 min.

It may look messy but the sign of a awesome cook is a messy kitchen... at least while cooking.

It shouldn't be messy normally. ha!



I like to serve mine with a hunk of sourdough bread.

It's great for dipping and sopping up the juice that's left in the bowl!!

 

 

This recipe makes a lot of minestrone so I am able to eat off of it for a few days.

 It even freezes well. For a family of four though, I'm sure it wouldn't last very long. 

I didn't have wine with it this time, but I'm sure a nice light red wine would go well - perhaps a Pinot Noir or even a Shiraz.

 

 

 

 

"My philosophy from day one is that I can sleep better at night if I can improve an individual's knowledge about food and wine, and do it on a daily basis." Emerill Lagasse