Jim's Garage Sale Minestrone: The Secret's Out!

I bundled up against what felt to our Northwestern sensibilities like subzero temperatures, gathered a few empty wine bottles and hauled them to Jim Dixon's Olive Oil Garage Sale last weekend. I stocked up on his "Family Oil," the blend of leftovers from the 50-gallon fustini barrels he uses for bulk sales, as well as some absolutely orgasmic balsamic vinegar. He always has a pot of soup on the stove to warm up his customers, and this year he shared the recipe.

Garage Sale Minestrone

This year I used purgatorio beans from Ayers Creek Farm, but any white bean would work. While you could use canned beans, dry beans are cheap, easy to cook and taste much better. And cooking them generates delicious stock. I usually don’t soak dry beans, but go ahead if you have the time. Otherwise, use enough water to cover about a cup of dry beans, add a generous pinch of sea salt, and cook gently until tender. You need to cook them separately because the acidity in the tomatoes you’ll be adding to the soup would keep then from getting tender.

In a separate stockpot, heat about a quarter cup of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add a chopped onion and a pinch of sea salt and cook for a few minutes (I dice the celery while the onion cooks, so I let it cook as long it takes to chop a couple of stalks). Add the celery, cook a bit, then add a couple of chopped carrots. If you’ve cooked the beans ahead of time and they’re ready, add them and their stock at this point. If not, add a couple of cups of water. If you’re using canned stock or broth to make soup, read Michael Rulhman’s blog entry.

Peel and dice (for me, chop or dice in the context of soup means smallish bite-sized) a couple of yellow potatoes and half a medium-size celery root. Use the other half to make smashed celery root and potatoes.

Add the root vegetables, and keep chopping, this time with half a head of green cabbage and a bunch of cavolo nero (aka Italian or lacinato kale). Toss them in the pot along with a big can of chopped or diced tomatoes. If you’ve got them, add any old, dried out rinds of Parmigiano Reggiano (if you don’t save these, start now; they’ll keep forever buried in the cheese drawer [or freezer - KAB]). Add the beans and their stock if you haven’t already.

Simmer the soup slowly for a couple of hours. Add salt to taste. Serve with a healthy drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil.

You can get his oils before Christmas, though not the soup, alas, at his store at Activspace (833 SE Main) on Sat., Dec.20, from 10 am-1 pm; then from 2 pm-5 pm at Great Wine Buys, 1515 NE Broadway. And then back at Activspace, Sun.-Tues., 12/21-23, 4:30 pm-6:30 pm. Bottled olive oil is available, or bring your own bottles for bulk purchases. Subscribe to notices of upcoming sales on his website.

Soup's On!

All of us who cook have recipes in our heads, the ones we could make in our sleep. They're the well we return to again and again, the flavors that go into making our favorite comfort foods. One of mine is a fruit crisp, based on a recipe from my grandmother's family that I've adapted to my own tastes. Another is a marinara that takes all of 20 minutes to put together but is best after simmering for several hours (and is even better the next day). It's a fantastic base for a meat sauce or layering with cheese and pasta for lasagne, and makes a pot roast that is to die for.

The soffritto...

I learned to make soups in college when I ran a coffeehouse at the U of O, which is where I fell in love with minestrone. So when I'm feeling like a pot of something deeply warm and delicious, I start pulling things out of the cupboards and emptying the vegetable bin. You can use beef stock or chicken, potatoes or pasta, chard or green beans. Or none of those. The basics revolve around onion, carrots, celery and tomatoes; the rest is pretty much up to you. It's nice to have a starch, so turnips, potatoes, pasta or white beans are good. And something green for color is nice, and I'll often throw in kale or peas or even favas when they're in season.

The insaporire.

After all, it's all about the comfort!

My Minestrone

1 onion, chopped fine
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1-2 c. potatoes, diced
1-2 c. diced zucchini or other vegetables
1 28-oz. can whole tomatoes, crushed
6-8 c. stock
2 c. cooked cannelini beans
1-2 c. chopped kale or other greens
1-2 c. chicken, sausage or meat, shredded (optional)
Salt to taste
1/2 c. parmesan, plus more for serving

Saute onions and garlic for 2-3 min. until golden. Add carrots and celery, saute 2-3 min. This is the base that Marcella Hazan refers to as soffritto (the raw, diced vegetables are the battuto). Then the final stage is the insaporire, or sauteing the rest of vegetables in that base. Who knew? In any case, add potatoes and saute for another 2-3 min., then add the chopped zucchini and saute for 2-3 min. Then add the rest of the ingredients except for the cheese (I like to crush the tomatoes by hand) and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 2-3 hrs. Just before serving, stir in parmesan.