The One with “PIVOT!” and Monica’s Mushroom Minestrone

Welcome to Friends with Food Episode #16! Listen here. Our friend Kyle Clark joins us this episode! Kyle is a stand up comedian and writer from LA. He is also the host of the This Is Rad! Podcast.

In this episode we cover Friends Season 5 Episode 16, The One with the Cop. This episode originally aired on February 25th, 1999. Monica is still going strong this week with Angel of Mine. The top movie at the box office was 8mm with good old Nicky Cage.

This episode contains the iconic couch scene. And here are a hundred pictures of it!

Freeze! You apologize to that tree or I’m calling for backup!

Monica’s mushroom minestrone!

In this episode we witness Monica chopping all of the world’s vegetables next to a giant loaf of bread. I like to think she’s making her famous mushroom minestrone!

monica’s mushroom minestrone

 1 or 2 tablespoons oil

1 onion, diced

1 large carrot, peeled and sliced into coins

1 stalk celery, sliced

3 cloves garlic, sliced

2 tsp fennel seed

¼ tsp dried oregano *

¼ tsp dried rosemary *

¼ tsp dried thyme *

½ tsp smoked paprika

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

8 oz button mushrooms, woody stems trimmed, chopped

1 can kidney beans, drained well

1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes

1 cup (or about 4oz) small shape pasta, such as ditalini

1 32 oz vegetable broth

2 cups chopped green beans

2 cups chopped cabbage

Salt

Pepper

Red wine vinegar

Parsley

scallion

*Feel free to substitute more or less of one herb or another, depending on what you have. You can also sub a tsp of Italian seasoning/herb mix for the individual herbs.

Put the oil into a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and a large pinch of salt. Stir and let cook until the onions begin to get translucent and the veggies begin to soften, 3-5 minutes. Stir in garlic, fennel, herbs, and paprika, and let cook for a minute to become aromatic. Stir in mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add a little more oil at this stage if the pan seems too dry. Add drained kidney beans, tomatoes with their juice, pasta, and broth. Turn up heat and bring soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let cook, partially covered, for 5 minutes. Add cabbage and green beans, and let cook another 3 minutes. Veggies and pasta should be tender; if not, let cook a few more minutes until everything reaches desired doneness. Add water if soup needs more liquid. Taste for seasoning, adding salt, pepper and a splash of vinegar to taste. Top with torn parsley and sliced scallions, and serve with a full loaf of crusty bread.