I, along with pretty much everyone whom I know, have been plodding through this season with a runny nose and sore throat. While friends reach for Neti pots, echinacea or Benadryl to beat the sniffles, I turn to the cold remedies of my childhood — fitful naps, bad B-movies, good books and warming soups.

As a kid, I invariably received a course of Jewish penicillin as well as doses of minestrone and stracciatella. Sound unusual? Keep in mind that I grew up in an Italian-American community where my parents’ favorite restaurant, Egidio’s, doled out tasty, Italian soups.

Minestrone remains one of my preferred cold cures. Chocked full of wholesome vegetables and soothing broth, it goes down easy and warms me to the core.

The minestrone that I make is based upon what chef-owner and cookbook author Laura Pensiero serves at her Rhinebeck, NY restaurant, Gigi Trattoria. Light, wholesome and flavorful, her vegetarian-friendly, Northern Italian soup features diced potatoes, beans, carrots, celery and fresh herbs. Mine does, too.

VEGETARIAN MINESTRONE
While I prefer using homemade vegetable stock in this soup, you can substitute a good quality, low-sodium stock for homemade.

Serves 4 to 6

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided, plus more as needed
1 russet potato, diced
1/2 small yellow squash, halved, seeded and sliced
4 cups vegetable stock
2 cups water
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons (about 1 stem) chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (15.5-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
Ground black pepper, to taste
Parmesan cheese, optional, for serving

In a large saucepan heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the carrot, celery, onion, garlic and half of the salt and sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes or until slightly softened. Add the potato and squash and cook for another 5 minutes before adding the stock, water, parsley, rosemary and oregano and stirring to combine.

Bring the ingredients to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the cannellini beans and continue to cook over medium-low for 15 to 20 minutes, until all the vegetables have softened and the flavors have melded together. Add ground black pepper to taste, stir to combine and add more salt and pepper if needed.

Ladle the minestrone into soup bowls and optionally grate Parmesan cheese over top of each. Serve hot.