Vegan Winter Minestrone

I was going through some old bookmarked recipes and realized that I had two versions of Gourmet's Winter Minestrone, plus the original, marked. With the strangely (and wonderfully) late Winter just beginning here in Chicago, I figured now was as good a time as ever to toss my (vegan) version into the mix.

Thinking now, there's something sort of apt (or, dare we go there?, meta) about this versioning soup story. Soup is so flexible, with lots of room for substitutions depending on the season, your pantry, and you. And so forgiving too. Soup is a great place to start if you're new to cooking. In fact, it was the first thing I ever cooked on my own, as a child, in the cabin in the dunes. I remember bouillon, noodles, and dry spices. I think my cousin Danny was there. Maybe that soup was horrible, but we made it, and we ate it.

8 ounces vegan ground beef style seitan
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 celery ribs, chopped
1 large red onion, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (28 ounce) can whole Roma tomatoes in their juice
6 cups hot water
1/2 red cabbage, chopped
8 ounces fresh spinach (about 10 cups/handfuls)
1 (14 ounce) can cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups cooked pasta

Cook the seitan, carrots, celery, and onions, in the oil in a wide, heavy-bottom pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the onions soften, add the garlic, 1 tsp salt, and 3/4 tsp pepper and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender and begin to stick to bottom of pot.

Push vegetables to one side of pot. Add tomato paste to cleared area and cook, stirring constantly, until it starts to caramelize, about 2 minutes. Stir paste into the vegetables and cook, stirring for about 2 minutes. (Paste may stick to pot, but don’t let it burn.)

Stir in the tomatoes with their juice, breaking them up with a spoon, then add hot water, scraping up any brown bits from bottom of pot. Bring to a simmer. Stir in the cabbage. Simmer, covered, until tender, about 20 minutes. Wilt in the spinach and stir in the beans. Continue coking for another few minutes, until the beans are warmed.

Season soup with salt and pepper. Stir in pasta just before serving.