Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
- 1 large onion, cut into large dice
- 1 celery stalk, cut into large dice
- 1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1/2 moon shapes
- 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup boiled ham chunks or end of prosciutto, large dice
- 4 medium tomatoes, fresh or canned, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped Italian parsley leaves
- 6 cups hot vegetable stock or chicken stock
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 small zucchini, medium dice
- 3/4 cup arborio rice
- 2 yellow, red, or orange bell peppers, roasted, cored, skinned, seeded and cut into strips
- Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 6 fresh chopped basil leaves
Directions
In a heavy-bottomed soup pot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat until hot, but not smoking. Add the onion and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Lower the heat to low, and add the celery, carrots and garlic. Allow to simmer over low heat until the vegetables begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Add the ham pieces and cook 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the tomatoes and the parsley. Cook for 5 more minutes so that the flavors meld.
Add the hot water or stock and season with salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, and add the zucchini and the rice. Bring back to a boil and then lower the heat so that the liquid is simmering. Let simmer gently until the rice is cooked, about 40 minutes. Remember to stir the soup occasionally. Add more water or stock, if necessary.
When the rice is cooked, add the roasted peppers and remove the soup from the heat. Stir in Parmesan, to taste, and top each serving with some chopped basil.
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By chef_#1321825
Livonia, MI
on December 29, 2011
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Awesome recipe! I did not have zucchini, fresh parsley, or peppers. I used jarred roasted peppers, canned tomatoes ( it is December and fresh would not have been good here in MI anyway. I also substituted garbanzo beans for the ham, since my daughter won't eat pig. I had a piece of parsley root in the freezer so I threw that in along with some frozen spinach. The rice sucked up a lot of the broth, so it is more of a stoup, but a delicious one at that for a cold, December day. I would love to try the actual recipe one day, but winging it with I had on hand turned out perfecto!
By heididanna_7521073
Ferndale, MI
on August 13, 2009
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the blend of flavors in this soup is awesome. i used a mix of zucchini and yellow summer squash, the colors were brilliant. i added the aborio rice and went to the pool, so it cooked too long. so instead of a soup it is more of a porridge, which doesn't make me happy, but still tastes delicious! definitely add the parm, but you can skip the extra salt since aborio seems salty.
By Chef #1344411
on July 22, 2009
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This was really good. I used 1 large can crushed tomatoes instead of fresh and used only 3 cups chicken broth + 3 cups water. I also added noodles, beans and extra carrots. The flavor was excellent.
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