Broward County Convention Center’s Minestrone Soup

SAVOR, the culinary team at the SMG-managed Fort Lauderdale Convention Center, is pleased to share our popular minestrone soup recipe. This hearty soup can be served as a first course or main dish.

A dish that first originated as a meal in ancient Rome, minestrone in Latin translates into ‘big soup.’ This vegetable soup is present in every region of Italy, but various recipes call for different vegetables, starches and proteins.

We are certain that our easy-to-make minestrone soup will delight your taste buds and impress your guests. This is just one of the many tasty and healthy dishes our SAVOR team serves at the Convention Center. We hope to serve you soon!

Minestrone Soup
(Yields two quarts)

3 each  Bay Leaves
2 each  Diced tomatoes (14.5 oz. can)
½ each  Celery (sliced)
10 cups  Chicken broth
2 cups  Red onion (diced)
1 ½ cups  Zucchini (seeded and diced)
1 cup  Carrot (diced)
1 cup  Ditalini pasta
1 cup  Pearl barley
1 cup  Red bell pepper (seeded and diced)
1 cup  Yellow squash (seeded and diced)
½ cup  Prosciutto (small and diced)
½ cup  Green bell pepper (seeded and diced)
2 tbsp  Roasted garlic
1 tbsp  Oregano (dried)
1 tbsp  Basil (dried)
Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté the onion, garlic, ham and herbs until the onions are cooked. Add the vegetables, canned tomatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Add the pasta and barley. Boil, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is cooked. Season with salt and pepper. Let the soup cool. Reheat the following day and serve hot with bread. Letting the soup cool overnight allows all of the different flavors to develop before the soup is ready to serve. Enjoy!

This article was previously published at the www.ftlauderdalecc.com blog.