Minestrone translates as “big soup” in Italian. This time of year nothing goes down better than a nice hearty bowl of soup so I would like to share with you my all time favorite Minestrone recipe. Its easy to make and will give you 8 – 10 servings so you can make a big batch on the weekend and have lunches for a couple of weeks :)
What you’ll need
3 Garlic Cloves
3 large brown onions
3 celery sticks
2 large carrots
2 large washed potatoes
100g green beans / string beans
100 g zucchini
60g butter
60g rindless short cut bacon – diced
1.5 litres chicken stock (or vegetable stock if you prefer)
A handful fresh basil leaves – finely chopped
100g roma romatoes – chopped
2 tablespoons (1 packet) tomato paste
The rind off a wedge of parmesan cheese (key ingredient!)
90g angel hair pasta
Salt & pepper
What to do
- Finely chop the garlic, onions, celery, carrots, potatoes, beans and zucchini.
- Heat the butter and oil together in a large saucepan, add the bacon and cook for 2 minutes
- Add the garlic and onion and fry for 2 minutes, then stir in the celery, carrots and potatoes. And fry for a further 2 minutes.
- Add the beans and zucchini and stir for a further 2 minutes.
- At this point cover the pan with a lid and cook the veg on a low heat for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. This sweats the vegetables down.
- Add the stock, basil leaves, tomatoes, tomato paste and the cheese rind, season to taste.
For the cheese rind, just cut the edge / rind off a wedge of parmesan. This is a key ingredient as it helps cream the soup up.
- Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer half covered for 1 hour.
- Remove and discard the cheese rind – its done its job!
- Add the angel hair pasta and cook for a further 20 minutes.
- Serve in large bowls with crusty bread!
