Minestrone is a hearty vegetable soup with Italian origins that is usually cooked with pasta or rice and occasionally with both. Beans, onions, celery, carrots, leaf vegetables, stock, parmesan cheese, and tomatoes are usually used as their ingredients. Minestrone may typically be cooked using any available veggies, therefore there is no specific recipe for it. It can be non-vegetarian, vegetarian, or include a stock made from animal bones (such as chicken stock). The base of the minestrone, according to food author Angelo Pellegrini, is bean soup, and borlotti beans, also known as Roman beans, "are the beans to use for true minestrone." Due to its unclear roots and lack of a set recipe, minestrone has a wide range of variations in Italy based on customary cooking methods, ingredients, and seasons. There are three words in modern Italian that are equivalent to the English word soup: zuppa, which is used to refer to tomato soup or fish soup; minestra, which is used to refer to a more substantial soup, like a vegetable soup; as well as "dry" soups, like pasta dishes; and minestrone which means large soup or stew but now the meaning is associated with a particular dish. Minestrone comes in a variety of textures, from a thick, dense soup with heavily simmered vegetables to a brothier soup with a lot of chopped, lightly cooked vegetables, and occasionally meats.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup chopped onion
- 3/4 cup chopped carrot
- 3/4 cup chopped celery
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
- 1 gold potato
- 2 cups sliced savoy
- 1 zucchini, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
- 2 medium fresh ripe tomatoes cored, peeled, chopped
- 6 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock for vegetarian version)
- 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Parmesan cheese, grated for garnish
Method
- On medium-high heat, warm some oil. Add the celery, carrot, and onion. Cook for about 8 minutes, or until slightly browned. Cook for another minute after adding the garlic.
- Add the fennel seeds, thyme, and bay leaf. Potato, tomato, zucchini, and cabbage should all be added. Then add the chicken stock.
- After bringing it to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer. Cook the vegetables for 20 minutes, partially covered, or until they are cooked through.
- To the soup, add the beans and parsley. Use salt and pepper to taste to season. Cook for another five minutes after bringing to a simmer. Take off the bay leaf and thyme leaves.
- Sprinkle some grated Parmesan cheese on top before serving.