Minestrone

Ingredients

Soffritto

• 4 tbspolive oil
• 1onion, diced
• 2carrots, diced
• 2 stickscelery, diced
• 3 clovesgarlic
• 100 gpancetta, diced, optional

Vegetables

• 2potatoes, diced
• 2courgettes, diced
• 150 ggreen beans
• 200 gsavoy cabbage or cavolo nero, shredded
• 400 gtinned tomatoes

Beans

• 400 gcooked borlotti or cannellini beans

Broth

• 2 litresvegetable or chicken stock
• 1parmesan rind
• 1bay leaf
• 1 sprigrosemary

To finish

• 150 gsmall pasta, or 150 g rice
• salt and pepper
• extra virgin olive oil
• grated Parmesan
• basil or pesto

Directions

1. Dice all the vegetables to roughly the same small size, about 1 cm. Even dicing matters more here than in most soups, because everything should be spoonable together and nothing should need cutting in the bowl.
2. Cook the onion, carrot and celery in the olive oil over a low heat for 15 minutes without letting them colour. Take the full fifteen minutes over the soffritto. Add the pancetta, if using, and the garlic and cook 2 minutes more.
3. Add the tomatoes and cook 5 minutes until they darken slightly. Now add the vegetables in order of how long they take, not all at once.
4. Pour in the stock, add the bay, rosemary and the parmesan rind, and simmer gently for 45 minutes. Never throw a parmesan rind away.
5. Add the cooked beans for the last 20 minutes. Crush a ladleful of the beans against the side of the pot and stir them back in.
6. Cook the pasta separately and add it to each bowl, rather than to the pot. Pasta cooked in the pot keeps swelling and by the next day it has drunk all the broth and gone to mush. Season, and let it stand off the heat for at least 15 minutes.
7. Serve warm rather than scalding, with a hard pour of good olive oil, grated Parmesan and torn basil or a spoonful of pesto. The Genoese version takes pesto, the Milanese takes rice and the Tuscan version is thickened with bread as ribollita, and all of them are minestrone.

Technique

• In summer it is made with courgette, beans and tomato; in winter with cabbage, squash and cavolo nero.
• It is often eaten at room temperature in Italy in hot weather, which surprises visitors.
• Leftovers reheated with stale bread become ribollita.

Substitutions

• Tinned beans, drained and rinsed, in place of dried.
• Any small pasta, or rice, or barley.

Variations

• Minestrone alla genovese, finished with pesto.
• Minestrone alla milanese, with rice and pancetta.
• Ribollita, thickened with stale bread and reboiled.

History

A catch-all vegetable soup whose ingredients change with region and season; the name is an augmentative of minestra, a served dish.

Frequently asked questions

What is Minestrone?

Minestrone is a soup & stew from Italy: vegetable and bean soup with pasta or rice. A catch-all vegetable soup whose ingredients change with region and season; the name is an augmentative of minestra, a served dish.

How long does Minestrone take to make?

Minestrone takes 30 min of preparation and 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Minestrone?

Yes, within limits. Tinned beans, drained and rinsed, in place of dried. Any small pasta, or rice, or barley.

What is the most important thing to get right in Minestrone?

Pour in the stock, add the bay, rosemary and the parmesan rind, and simmer gently for 45 minutes. Never throw a parmesan rind away.