Minestrone Soup

Minestrone soup © kvalifood.com

Minestrone is a hearty Italian vegetable soup with lightly salted pork as the flavor base, plenty of root vegetables, and pasta or rice. It is very flexible — use whatever is in the fridge. Grated Parmesan sprinkled over at serving is essential.

Ingredients

Yields 6 servings

  • 100-125 g lightly salted pork belly
  • 2 onions
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 100 g carrots (about 2)
  • 150-200 g white cabbage (about 1/4 small head)
  • 150 g leeks (about 2)
  • 100 g celeriac (or 4-5 stalks celery)
  • 4-5 peeled tomatoes
  • 1 1/2-2 l stock
  • 150 g fresh (or frozen) green beans
  • 125 g fine peas
  • 1 bunch parsley
  • 2 sprigs basil
  • 1 sprig thyme
  • 50 g macaroni (or 3/4 dl loose rice)
  • salt, pepper

To serve

  • grated Parmesan

Directions

Preparation

Cut the pork into small cubes. Chop the onions and garlic. Slice the carrots and leeks, dice the celeriac, and finely shred the cabbage. Cut the tomatoes into large pieces. Snap the beans into shorter pieces.

Cooking

Fry the pork in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat until most of the fat has rendered and the cubes are golden. Add the onions and garlic and sauté for 3–4 minutes. Add the carrots, celeriac, and cabbage and let them cook for a couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes, stock, and herbs. Bring to a boil, skim, and turn the heat down. Simmer the soup with the lid on for 45 minutes.

Finishing

Add the beans, peas, and macaroni or rice and cook for a further 10–12 minutes until tender. Season with salt and pepper.

Serving

Serve piping hot with grated Parmesan sprinkled over.

Notes

  • Adding a Parmesan rind to the soup during cooking gives the broth considerable umami
  • Add pasta right at the end — it absorbs liquid and goes soft; have extra stock ready
  • The dish is flexible: use what the fridge has — zucchini, parsnip, celeriac, green peas
  • Lightly salted pork belly can be replaced with pancetta or bacon
  • Freezing: 3 months (without pasta; add fresh pasta when reheating)