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Pork Hock Minestrone

Ingredients:

  • Capital Pork Hock
  • Conchigliette Pasta
  • Navy Beans
  • Carrot
  • Celery
  • Asparagus Ends
  • Onion
  • Yukon Gold Potato
  • Garlic
  • Leek
  • Green Onion
  • Kale
  • Italian Parsley
  • Vegetable Bouillon
  • Red Wine
  • Crushed Tomato Sauce
  1. Add a Capital Smoked Pork Hock to a pot of boiling water. Be sure to leave the bone and skin on for the most flavour.
  2. Wash, peel, and chop all of the vegetables, and herbs, and add to the pot. These will all cook for about an hour, so the order of ingredients isn’t too important. Add a Vegetable Bouillon cube to taste, and your dry Navy Beans. (All vegetables are welcome in this soup, don’t be shy!)
  3.  Prepare the soup condiment by lightly frying chopped green onion and garlic in a pan of olive oil over medium heat. Try to get the oil to sizzle, but not brown the ingredients too much. After the onions and garlic become fragrant, add a few tablespoons of Crushed Tomato, and a splash of Red Wine. Cook until slightly thickened over medium heat.
  4.  In a separate pot, cook your Conchigliette pasta shells. The pasta is cooked separately to remove some of the starch. Pull the pasta out slightly before it’s fully cooked, and rinse in a strainer with cold water to stop the cooking process. 
  5. Add the finished Condiment to the soup, and cook together for about 25 minutes, or until the beans are softened. A few minutes before the soup is finished cooking, add the pasta back in, and cook until the pasta is “Al Dente”.
  6. Tip: the Minestrone is done cooking when the hard vegetables are soft, and similar in texture to the pasta. 
  7. Add your favourite cheese (we like Parmigiano-Reggiano for this dish), stir, serve, top with more cheese, and enjoy!