• Good olive oil

• 4 ounces pancetta, ½-inch-diced

• 1½ cups chopped yellow onions

• 2 cups (½-inch) diced carrots (3 carrots)

• 2 cups (½-inch) diced celery (3 stalks)

• 2½ cups (½-inch) diced peeled butternut squash

• 1½ tablespoons minced garlic (4 cloves)

• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

• 26 ounces canned or boxed chopped tomatoes, such as Pomi

• 6 to 8 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade

• 1 bay leaf

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

• 2 cups cooked small pasta, such as tubetti

• 8 to 10 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves

• 1/2 cup good dry white wine

• 2 tablespoons store-bought pesto

• Garlic Bruschetta (see recipe)

• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven. Add the pancetta and cook over medium-low heat for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Add the onions, carrots, celery, squash, garlic, and thyme and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften.

Add the tomatoes, 6 cups of the chicken stock, the bay leaf, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1-1/2 teaspoons pepper to the pot. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.

Discard the bay leaf. Add the beans and cooked pasta and heat through. The soup should be quite thick but if it’s too thick, add more chicken stock. Just before serving, reheat the soup, add the spinach, and toss with 2 big spoons (like tossing a salad). Cook just until the leaves are wilted. Stir in the white wine and pesto. Depending on the saltiness of the chicken stock, add another teaspoon or two of salt to taste. Serve large shallow bowls of soup with a bruschetta on top. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, drizzle with olive oil, and serve hot.

Garlic Bruschetta

• 1 baguette

• Good olive oil

• 1 garlic clove, cut in half lengthwise

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. 

Slice the baguette at a 45-degree angle in 1/2-inch-thick slices. Brush both sides of the bread with olive oil and bake for 6 minutes, until lightly toasted. Take the slices out of the oven and rub the surface of each one with the cut clove of garlic.

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Bootie and Bossy's modifications:

To make a vegetarian version, leave out the pancetta and start with the mirepoix (diced carrots, onion, and celery), squash, garlic, and thyme. Proceed with the rest of the recipe as written, except add 2 cans of cannellini beans instead of 1. Bossy does this even though she's not making the vegetarian version. Bootie recommends Goodles for the noodles. It really does taste just like regular pasta and no, we're not getting any compensation for saying so! Bossy recommends the Bel Gioso Parmesan shaved cheese, even though she is not getting any monetary compensation for doing so either. Bootie recently learned from the Milk Street Podcast that it's best to add the spinach and pasta only to the lucky people that are you're serving right away. If you have leftovers, you should add the pasta and spinach after heating up the rest of the soup. That way the pasta and spinach don't get soggy. 

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Bootie's Garlic Bread (instead of the Bruschetta): 

1 Baguette

4 T butter (bossy probably says this is stingy)

1 glove garlic, minced (Bossy probably also says this is stingy)

Salt and Pepper

Fresh herbs such as the thyme you used in the minestrone

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Preheat oven to 375. Make a paste of the butter, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper. Cut the baguette lengthwise. Spread the herbed butter on the baguette and wrap in aluminum foil. Bake in oven for 15 minutes.