Classic Minestrone
From The Kitchen
A pot of minestrone is a whole week of easy lunches. Humble vegetables, creamy beans and a little pasta, simmered until everything tastes like more than the sum of its parts.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 zucchini, diced
- 1 cup green beans, trimmed and cut
- 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 1 Parmesan rind (optional, for depth)
- 1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans, drained
- 1 cup small pasta (ditalini or elbows)
- A handful of fresh basil, torn
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Grated Parmesan, to serve
Method
- Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook the onion, carrot and celery until soft, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Add the garlic, zucchini and green beans and cook 3 minutes more.
- Pour in the tomatoes and broth, add the Parmesan rind, and bring to a simmer. Cook 20 minutes.
- Add the cannellini beans and pasta and simmer until the pasta is tender, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the basil, season with salt and pepper, and serve with grated Parmesan.
Storage: Keeps 4 days refrigerated and freezes well (leave the pasta out and add fresh if freezing, so it doesn't go soft).
Serve it with
- A small piece of crusty whole-grain bread
- A green salad on the side
- Topped with grated Parmesan and olive oil
- A spoonful of pesto stirred in
A cup of soup with one small piece of good, crusty bread is plenty — quality over quantity. Enough to feel satisfied and still in the pleasure of the meal, never deprived.
Gina's tip
A Parmesan rind simmered in the pot adds savory, salty depth — save your rinds in the freezer for exactly this.
Make a pot on Sunday and you've taken care of future-you all week. Soup like this is one of the kindest, easiest things you can keep in the fridge.
I hope this recipe finds a place in your kitchen as it has in mine. Enjoy!
— Gina