This hearty soup has a little twist on traditional minestrone using crisp, smokey bacon, savory chunks of sirloin, nutrient rich beans, tons of seasonal vegetables that are swimming in a tomato-y beef broth. Comfort food at it's best!
¼lbbaconcooked crisp and diced (if using pre-cooked bacon/turkey bacon, be sure to add a little additional olive oil when sauteing veggies and or beef)
½lbsirloindiced (other cuts of beef may be substituted)
1oniondiced fine
2carrotspeeled, diced small (or sub. 1 cup of baby carrots, diced)
1leekquartered, rinsed and diced small (white part and about 1 inch of green)
4clovesgarlicminced
3cupsgreen cabbageshredded, store bought works great
1smallzucchinigrated or diced
1potatopeeled and diced into small cubes (I used a russet potato, but try other varieties)
4cupsbeef broth(32 oz) or stock, for a brothy soup, add additional 32 oz. of broth
In a large heavy pot, cook the bacon over medium heat until crispy. Remove and set on paper towels to drain and cool, reserve drippings. Once cooled, chop or crumble bacon into bite size pieces, set aside.
Increase the heat to medium-high and if needed add a couple teaspoons of olive oil to pan. Toss in your sirloin and brown quickly on all sides, removing from pan once browned. Set aside.
Saute your onions, leeks and carrots in the bacon pan drippings, adding olive oil if needed until vegetables are tender and just beginning to brown, about 8-10 minutes.
Add garlic and saute an additional minute, until fragrant. Stir in your shredded cabbage, zucchini (grated or diced), and diced potato. Add in chicken and beef broth (I used more beef broth). Stir in tomato paste.
Return the browned beef and a handful of the crisp bacon to the soup and bring to a boil. Reserve the rest of the bacon for serving. Reduce heat to simmer and add in 2 tablespoons parsley, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Stir into soup, simmering for about 15 minutes. Add in beans (drained and rinsed) and chopped tomatoes.
Stir in pasta shells, simmer until the pasta is tender, about 10-12 minutes. Before serving adjust your seasonings as needed and add additional 3 tablespoons of fresh, chopped parsley.
Sprinkle remaining bacon on top as a garnish for serving. Garnish each bowl with a generous amount of grated parmesan cheese and additional bacon and a few pieces of fresh parsley if desired.
Notes
TIP | If using pre-cooked or turkey bacon, you will need to add a couple tablespoons of olive oil to saute your veggies and brown your sirloin. TIP | I add an additional 32 oz box of beef broth, making it brothier. This recipe was adapted from the Bacon, Beans and Beer Cookbook from Happy Simple Living.