Spicy Minestrone Soup

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SauceOn #CollectiveBias

Starting at the end of my pregnancy, I began to love soup. I never was such a fan before but for the last month or two, I have been wanting it like crazy. I recently had some great minestrone soup at an Italian restaurant and wanted to recreate a similar recipe at home. I recently picked up some El Yucateco Black Label Reserve chile habanero hot sauce and made a homemade spicy minestrone soup using it.


The soup turned out excellent and I enjoyed the use of this flavorful hot sauce. This particular Black Label Reserve sauce is sold exclusively at Walmart. I was able to find it in the international section under hispanic foods. I was shocked that this sauce is actually black colored. I have never seen a hot sauce that was this color before. I think that it would be neat in a halloween recipe for this reason.

I also tried the other hot sauces from El Yucateco which I had not tried before. We had tacos with shredded steak and used the chile habanero sauce which added a good flavor and spice. I do not use hot sauce all that often but my husband who is half Mexican loves hot sauce on all different kinds of foods. My entire family is obsessed with trying different hot sauces and enjoyed this one.


Makes a huge pot, can cut in half if you want less. Makes great leftovers and freezes well. This meal is very healthy and tastes great!

Ingredients:
8 large carrots
1 large summer squash
1 large zucchini
1 1/2 red onions
5 stalks celery
2 tablespoons dried basil
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tablespoon dried chopped garlic
2 cans dark red kidney beans
3 cups no-salt added chicken stock
1-28 oz can of no-salt added diced tomatoes
1-28 oz can no-salt added crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 cups your choice of grain (I used wheatberries, can also use pasta, rice, etc.)
2 tablespoons El Yucateco Black Label Reserve chile habanero hot sauce

Directions:
1. Chop all vegetables into small bite sized pieces.
2. Add to a large pot and add about 2 cups of water. Cook over high heat.
3. Once vegetables start to become tender, turn heat down to medium and add basil, black pepper and garlic.
4. Meanwhile, in a separate pot, cook grains according to directions. Cook until slightly firm.
5. Cook until vegetables are 90% cooked and then add chicken stock, kidney beans, wheatberries (or other grain), hot sauce, diced tomatoes and crushed tomatoes.
6. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for about 20 minutes until flavors are melded and all food is thoroughly cooked.


The minestrone can be served immediately or is even better the next day.


I enjoyed using El Yucateco hot sauces and thought that it was a great addition to my soup. Check out these sites for recipes using El Yucateco sauces.