Guess what I got?

After spending two years day dreaming about the things I would make in a Le Creuset french oven, I finally have one.  It is easily the most beautiful piece of cast-iron I have ever seen.  The color makes it all the more perfect.  It’s not green, it’s fennel.  Could this get any better. No.

This was the first meal that I cooked in my french oven. The first of many to come.

It. was. delicious.

And buttery.

And leek-y.

Thanks to this recipe, I now know what the heck a leek is and (thanks to Youtube) how to clean one.

Minestrone Soup with Whole Wheat Biscuit Topping

slightly adapted from How Sweet It Is

makes one 9×13 dish or one 3 quart dish,
serves 4-6

Minestrone Soup

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
• 1 cleaned and trimmed leek, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup baby bella mushrooms, coarsely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 cups cubed butternut squash
• 3 cups raw spinach leaves
• 3 cups torn kale leaves
• 1/2 cup baby carrots, chopped into 1/2 inch rounds
• 1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (15 oz) peeled whole tomatoes
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 1 parmesan cheese rind (mine was about 4 inches long)

1. Add oil to a large french oven and allow to heat over medium heat for approx. 3 minutes, or until hot.
2. Add onion and leek and cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, or until onion and leek soften. Stir frequently.
3. Stir in mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes.
4. Stir in garlic and cook/stir until fragrant.
5. Add in butternut squash, kale, spinach, carrots, cannellini beans, tomatoes, chicken stock and cheese rind.
6. Bring soup to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.  Cover and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
7. While soup is simmering, prepare biscuit topping.

Whole Wheat Biscuits

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) cold butter, cut into cubes
• 1 1/2 cups milk (I used skim)
• Optional: add 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese into the final biscuit dough

1. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
2. Using your fingers or a fork, mix cold butter cubes into flour until coarse crumbs remain.
3. Pour milk into butter-flour mixture and stir until sticky dough is formed.

Minestrone Soup and Whole Wheat Biscuit Topping

1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Carefully pour simmering soup from french oven into oven-safe, baking dish.
3. Using the biscuit dough, form 8 biscuits and place on top of soup. (My biscuit dough was sticky so none of my biscuits were perfectly round.  If you want your biscuits to hold a specific shape, add more flour to the dough before shaping)
4. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until biscuit topping is golden brown.
5. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
6. Enjoy!