Leftover Minestrone

This recipe comes from Saveur. Minestrone is just a fantastic soup and I love the ad hoc nature of this recipe. It's one of those great - "whatever is at hand" - recipes that will hold up to the test of time.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup of a combination of diced onion, carrot, celery, leek, and fennel
3 cloves garlic, sliced
½ cup olive oil
A small pinch of chile flakes
The end of a piece of cured meat or hard salami (about 5 oz.), diced
1 cup any combination parsley, thyme, marjoram, basil leaves, roughly chopped
2-3 cups any combination kale, spinach, or other greens, roughly chopped (stems and leaves, ribs, and cores, cooked or raw)
½ cup well-chopped whole tomatoes, or drained canned tomatoes
Optional: ½ to 1 cup chopped root vegetables (if they are there and need to be cooked, or cooked and need to be eaten)
6 cups cooked beans
A Parmesan rind (about 4")
8 cups liquid, from any combination bean broth, stock, and liquid from cans of tomatoes
1 cup small pasta such as orecchiette, little tubes, or small penne
Pesto, olive tapenade, fresh ricotta, or parsley for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Cook the onion, carrot, celery, leek, fennel, and garlic in the olive oil until tender in a big pot. Add the chile flakes and any cured meat. Stir to combine. Add the herbs, greens, tomatoes, root vegetables, beans, and cheese rind, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot. Add liquid to cover and simmer for 45 to 60 minutes, until everything has agreed to become minestrone.

2. Just before you eat the soup, cook the pasta in a pot of salted, boiling water, only enough for the soup you're planning to eat that week, and add it to the week's soup. If you freeze minestrone, cook new pasta whenever you eat the minestrone you've frozen.

3. Garnish with pesto or olive tapenade, a big dollop of fresh ricotta, or a few leaves of parsley.