Some housekeeping

A friend of mine recently pointed out that some of the greatest dishes in the world really started as nothing but leftovers. Paella. Stir fry. All ways to get rid of whatever is in the kitchen. Even sauerbraten got its start when the Germans wanted to come up with a way to make a less than stellar leftover cut of meat taste better.

So this weekend I tried my own hand at coming up with the next great culinary masterpiece. Not really. I just found myself once again with a fridge full of ingredients and wanted to reinvent them.

The first thing I made was a white minestrone soup (inspired by Carrabba's) that I've done different variations of before. By picking up a few extras, it proved a great way to get rid of some onions, carrots, zucchini and an extreme surplus of cabbage.

But there were so many veggies they didn't all fit in my soup pot. So at some point I became inspired for my second creation, zucchini and caramelized onion quesadillas with spicy red jalapeno and balsamic sauce. Sounds pretty high-class doesn't it?

Anyway, without further ado...

White minestrone soup

What you need:

4 tbsps. olive oil

1/3 lb. pancetta, cut into strips

2 onions, chopped

5 cloves of garlic, chopped

5 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

About a half a cabbage (green) cut into chunks

1 package of green beans, cut into thirds

2 green zucchinis, chopped

About 2 cups white wine (I used chardonnay)

1 can diced tomatoes

3 cans cannellini beans

1 carton chicken broth (4 cups)

3 bay leaves

2 tbsps. dried thyme

Salt

Pepper

Shredded Parmesan cheese for serving

What to do:

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot and then add the pancetta. Cook until slightly crisped and brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate covered with paper towels.

Add the onions, garlic and carrots to the pot and cook in the oil from the pancetta until soft. Stir in some salt, pepper, the thyme and the bay leaves. Add the potatoes, cabbage and tomatoes to the pot and stir in about half the wine. Cover and let cook until the potatoes start to soften, about 15 minutes.

Strain two of the cans of cannellini beans. Add them to the pot with the green beans and zucchini and cook until starting to get tender. You'll want to keep some liquid in the pot for the duration of the cooking, so if too much evaporates start adding in the chicken broth so the veggies have a little puddle of liquid to cook in.

Strain the third can of cannellini beans and with an immersion blender mix with about two cups of water to create a smooth puree. After all of the veggies and spices have been added, put the bean puree, remaining chicken broth and wine to the pot and bring to a boil. Let simmer for about 30 minutes.

Note: This is quite a bit of soup, so make sure you start with a very large pot.

Caramelized onion and zucchini quesadillas with spicy red pepper sauce

What you need:

2 tbsps. butter

1 onion, sliced

2 zucchini, cut into matchsticks

2 yellow squash, cut into matchsticks

10 tortillas

6 cups Monterrey jack cheese

5 jarred red jalapenos

1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tbsps. dijon mustard

Chipotle powder

What to do:

Pre-heat the oven to 425.

Heat the butter in a frying pan and when melted add the onions. Cook to caramelize. When the onions are browned, add the zucchini and cook until soft.

Arrange five of the tortillas on baking sheets. Divide half of the cheese in equal parts and put on the tortillas. Top with equal parts of the onion/zucchini mix. Place one of the remaining tortillas on each top. Brush the top of each quesadilla with a little bit of olive oil and sprinkle with the chipotle powder. Bake in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes until tops are brown and cheese is melted.

Meanwhile, use a veggie chopped to chop the peppers and garlic into a relish. Lightly mix in the balsamic vinegar and mustard.

Serve the quesadillas with the sauce, which is - by the way - extremely spicy. Eat with caution!