Winter Minestrone & Garlic Bruschetta

The christening of that new cookbook I got, started with Ina's Winter Minestrone & Garlic Bruschetta, Barefoot Contessa Foolproof, p. 53.

 First I started by prepping the veggies, and herbs, and pancetta.

Next, I added the pancetta to a Dutch oven with a bit of olive oil.

Once the pancetta was browned, the whole lot of veggies was added.

Once those got softened, a few other ingredients were added.

I only used one can of tomato sauce.

Once those simmered for a while, the rest of the ingredients were added, and the soup was finished.

Don't forget the tasty brushetta for dipping!

And the leftovers were put in to pint size Ball jars, and put in the freezer to enjoy on another cold Winter's night!

I did change Ina's recipe just a slight bit.  I omitted the cannellini beans as beans and I have not really been each other's friend of late.  My husband does not like tomatoes.  He likes the taste, it is just a texture thing, so I used a can of tomato sauce instead of chopped tomatoes.  As I was first making the recipe and I tasted it, I was not sure we were going to like it.  It seemed too tomato-y.  But, after it simmered, it was tasting better.  The kicker was the pesto and parmesan cheese.  Once these were added, my whole family LOVED this soup.  Marcus said it tasted like pizza soup, which is a high compliment from him!  Dan really enjoyed it too, and even took some of the leftovers for lunch the next day, along with plenty of pieces of that yummy garlic bruschetta.