Lamb Minestrone

We've only had 1 week of classes after Christmas break and already we've been off for three snow days. Well, two of them--last Thursday & Friday--were "cold days," the weather being too blustery to have school. With yesterday being a holiday, I've had the last five days off.

Remind me to stop complaining about my job.

You would think that with all those days off, there'd be a flurry of activity in my kitchen. Not so. I brewery hopped in St. Louis on Thursday, grocery shopped & errand ran on Friday, baked a cheesecake then made another batch of ravioli with Jerad's family for his birthday on Saturday, had a impromptu day of slot-machining & drinking with Sarah on Sunday, and enjoyed a lazy day at home on Sunday...watching movies in front of the fire, reading, baking bread, and making soup.

Lamb Minestrone

adapted from Tyler's Ultimate

Ingredients:

10 cups chicken stock

11 cloves garlic
1/2 pound small rigatoni
Extra-virgin olive oil
8 fresh sage leaves
1 sprig fresh rosemary, needles only
1 sprig fresh thyme, leaves only
1 pound ground lamb
2 medium carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery ribs, roughly chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 (28-ounce) can crushed plum tomatoes
1 bay leaf

1 sprig fresh thyme

juice of 1 lemon2 (28-ounce) cans cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 bunch fresh parsley leaves, finely minced
Coarsely ground black pepper

Kosher salt

Directions:

• Combine the stock and 8 cloves of smashed garlic in a big saucepan and simmer for about 15 minutes to give the stock a nice, garlicky taste; strain out the garlic. Keep warm.
• Bring a pot of salted water to boil for the rigatoni. Boil the pasta for about 6 minutes; it will be undercooked. Drain & set aside.
• Pour 1/4 cup olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the sage & rosemary and warm the oil over medium heat to infuse it with the flavor of the herbs, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add carrots, celery, onion, & 3 cloves of minced garlic and cook until soft but not browned. Transfer to a bowl.
• Cook the lamb in the pan (add more oil if needed), breaking up the meat with the side of a big spoon until well browned.
• To the pan with the sausage stir in the crushed tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme, lemon, cannelloni beans, black pepper, salt, and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
• Stir the pasta into the simmering soup. Cook for a few minutes until pasta is done.
• Add the parsley and taste for seasoning. Discard the bay leaf before serving.