Every region and every family has a classic minestrone recipe – you can vary it depending on what vegetables you have. Here is a classic recipe to use as your starting point.
1 onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
I stick celery
1 tablespoon olive oil
75g chopped bacon or lardons
1 leek, finely shredded
1 courgette/zucchini, diced
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, picked and chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley
2 clove garlic, crushed
1 x 400g tin or chopped tomatoes
1 400g tin borlotti or cannellini beans
900ml vegetable/chicken stock, approx. 3 tins
2 tablespoons green cabbage, shredded – ideally cavolo nero
1 tablespoon small pasta shapes
Method
Fry the onion, carrot and celery in the olive oil and cook gently for 10 minutes until softened. Add in the bacon, rosemary, parsley, leek and zucchini and fry for about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic for a further 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, beans and stock and cover. Simmer gently about an hour, adding a little more liquid if necessary. Remove 3 or 4 tablespoons of the soup and blend with a stick blender until smooth and return to the pan. Add in the cabbage and pasta and cook for a further 5 minutes. Serve with freshly grated parmesan.
A few extras you could add – the rind of a piece of parmesan, a tablespoon of lentils or barley/farro/dried soup mix – you will need more liquid if you do this.
Look out for ‘soup mixes’ – this is an Italian one but you can get them here too. They’re a mix of lentils and grains – usually barley or farro. Add in a couple of tablespoons onto the minestrone and it gives a great texture.