Thug Kitchen's Warm-Up Minestrone

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Warm the F*&k Up Minstrone
by Thug Kitchen
Serves 4-6

This is a clean-out-the-fridge-style soup that will warm your ass up and keep you full for hours. Grab a mug, a thermos, or a big-a#$ bowl and get down. Enjoy with crusty bread if you like to eat in style.

2 tsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, sliced into half-moons
3 ribs celery, chopped
1 large potato or turnip, cut into dice-size pieces
2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
3 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf 
1 can (14.5 oz.) low-salt diced tomatoes*
1/2 cup dried black lentils
7 cups vegetable broth
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup small pasta shapes, like shells or stars or whatever
5 cups shredded green cabbage or kale
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup minced fresh basil
Ground pepper

Grab a large soup pot and heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and sauté; until the onion starts to look golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the potato, rosemary, garlic, pepper flakes, and bay leaf. Cook for another 30 seconds to get the garlic going. Add the diced tomatoes and lentils and give it another 30 seconds.

Now, pour in all the broth and let that motherf*&ker come to a simmer. Reduce the heat and let that go at a gentle pace until the lentils are almost cooked but the potato is tender, about 15 minutes. Next, add the salt, pasta, and cabbage (if using kale, don’t add it yet) and keep the pot gently simmering until the pasta is cooked all the way, 5 to 10 minutes, depending on your pasta. (If you are using kale, fold it into the pot after the pasta is all cooked and let that pot simmer for 2 more minutes.)

Add the vinegar and lemon juice, stir well, and remove from the heat. Fold in the parsley and basil and let the pot sit for a minute or two. Taste to see whateverthef*&k else it might need, like pepper or more rosemary to taste. Pull out the bay leaf and serve right away.

* If tomatoes are in season and for some f*&king reason you are making this soup, then sub in 3 fist-size tomatoes, chopped.

Reprinted from “Thug Kitchen: The Official Cookbook” by Thug Kitchen. Copyright (c) 2014 by Thug Kitchen, LLC. By permission of Rodale Books. Available wherever books are sold.

From the Yahoo Food Team: If you make this recipe at home, let us know what you think. We’d love to hear from you!