Crock pot cooking is so easy during the weekdays. I gather the ingredients the night before, so that when I wake up I have everything at the my finger tips- very little thinking required. Today, on this chilly January day I am making a soup that reminds me of the warm Adriatic Coast. The funny thing about Croatian cuisine is that it’s influenced by its surrounding countries, Italy, Austria, Hungary. Manestra is a soup found in the Croatian region of Istria. It usually takes hours to stew and simmer, which makes it perfect in crock pot cooking. As the name suggests, it is very similar to the Italian minestrone soup. The Croatian version includes some pork ribs if you want, but I am making todays version vegetarian.
Ingredients
1 cap 796 ML diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups vegetable broth (or mushroom broth)
1 cup water
1 cup carrots chopped
1 cup celery chopped
1 parmesan rind (I usually save several in fridge)
2 galic cloves minced’
1 shallot chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon Vegeta (Croatian all spice) or Salt
1 cup zucchini chopped
1 cup kale chopped
***Pork ribs 5 oz*** if using
Directions
1 Add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, vegetable stock, water, carrots, shallots, celery, parmesan rind, vegetable stock, garlic, oregano, basil, vegeta (or salt), and pork ribs if using to crock pot. Set on high for 3- 4 hours.
2. Add in zucchini and kale for the last 2o minutes of cooking. Otherwise the zucchini will be too mushy if you add it in step 1.
3. Serve with parmesan shavings, and fresh chopped basil.
