Minestrone

Servings: 6
Ingredients:

1 c  Dried white beans, soaked
-overnight in 3 times their
Volume water
5 tb Olive oil
5    Cloves Garlic, minced or put
-through a press
1    Onion, minced
2    Leeks, white part only,
-cleaned and sliced
2    Carrots, sliced
1/2 sm Cabbage, shredded
2    Potatoes, scrubbed and diced
1 lb Tomatoes, sliced
1 cn Tomato paste, small can
6 c  Water or vegetable stock
1/4 ts Celery seed
1 ea Parmesan; 3\' rind
1    Bay leaf
1 ts Oregano
1/2 ts Thyme
Sea salt and pepper to taste
1 ts Dried basil, or 1 T of fresh
1    Or 2 Zucchini, sliced thin
3/4 c  Fresh green beans, trimmed
-and cut in half
1 c  (unshelled) fresh or 1/4 c
-frozen peas
4 oz Broken whole wheat spaghetti
4 tb Chopped fresh parsley
1 c  Freshly grated Parmesan
-cheese

From: Gourmet Vegetarian Feasts, by Martha Rose Shulman, 1989

Soak beans overnight or for several hours and drain. Heat oil in a large,
heavy-bottomed soup pot and add garlic, onion, leeks, carrots, and cabbage.
Saute, stirring over medium heat, for about 10 minutes.

Add beans, potatoes, tomatoes, tomato paste, water or stock, celery seed,
Parmesan rind, bay leaf, oregano, thyme, and *dried* basil (fresh basil
should be added at the end of the cooking.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 2 hours, or until beans
are tender. Remove Parmesan rind and bay leaf. Add salt and freshly
ground pepper to taste, zucchini, green beans, peas, and spaghetti and cook
for another 15 minutes. Adjust seasonings.

Stir in parsley and fresh chopped basil and serve, topping each bowl with a
generous amount of freshly grated Parmesan. This freezes well.