Minestrone Soup - Classic

Votes: 20

Time: 1 hour 50 min.
Complexity: easily
Servings: 4

Minestrone soup, which translates from Italian as "big soup," is one of Italy's oldest dishes. It has been prepared since ancient Roman times. Since Minestrone was considered a poor man's dish, there was never a strict classic recipe. The key was to make the soup thick and rich in seasonal ingredients. Any leftover vegetables the housewife had were used. If meat was available, the soup would be made with meat broth; if there was no meat, a vegetarian version would be enjoyed. And when a severe drought struck and the vegetable harvest was meager, the idea of adding rice and pasta to Minestrone was invented. Despite its versatility, Minestrone has always been considered a healthy and nutritious soup.

The recipes use measuring containers with the following volumes:
1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.

Ingredients for the recipe:

1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
0.5 cups dried white beans, pre-soaked
1 bay leaf
A sprig of thyme
4 cups beef broth
Parmesan cheese rind (optional)
2 cups canned tomatoes in their own juice, with juice
2 cups diced potatoes
2 tbsp. zucchini, diced
2 cups shredded Savoy cabbage
1 cup small shell pasta
Pesto sauce, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Suggestions

We recommend

Recipes with similar ingredients: Savoy cabbage, white beans, tomatoes, zucchini, pasta, carrot, celery, potato, bay leaf, thyme

Cooking the dish according to the recipe:

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan. Add the onion and sauté until golden brown, 5-7 minutes. Then add the carrots and celery and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the beans, bay leaf, and thyme, and stir for 1 minute.
Pour the broth into the pan, add the Parmesan rind (optional), tomatoes and their juice, and season with salt and pepper to taste. (If using Parmesan, keep in mind that it will also release salt. Be careful not to oversalt.) Bring to a boil and simmer for an hour. Then add the potatoes, zucchini, and cabbage. Simmer for another 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Towards the end of cooking, add the pasta, cover the pan with a lid, and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle the Minestrone soup into bowls and stir in when serving. pesto sauce.

Author of the recipe - Michelle Ervater is a cookbook author.

Categories:

recipe / Soups / Soups with pasta and cereals / Italian cuisine

Similar recipes