La Minestra

Name: La Minestra
Yield: Serves eight: it’s not really worth making a smaller amount, and the soup will improve over two or three days
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: 200 g (7 oz) dried borlotti beans; 1 sprig of rosemary; 1 red chilli; 2 bay leaves; 1 head of cavolo nero, cut into thin ribbons; sea salt and black pepper; 40–50 ml (1½–1¾ fl oz) best-quality olive oil; 6 fat garlic cloves; 3 tablespoons olive oil; 2 onions, peeled and cut into 5mm (¼in) dice; 4 carrots, peeled and cut into 5mm (¼in) dice; 200 g (7 oz) tomato passata; 6 celery sticks, cut into 5mm (¼in) dice; 2 sprigs of thyme; 100 g (3½ oz) ditalini or similar soup pasta; 50 g (1¾ oz) Parmesan cheese, finely grated

Preparation info

Serves
eight
: it’s not really worth making a smaller amount, and the soup will improve over two or three days

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

A Long and Messy Business

By Rowley Leigh

Published 2018

About

Adding diced pancetta to the soffritto at the beginning certainly gives an added dimension to the enterprise but it is absolutely optional.

Ingredients

200 g (7 oz) dried borlotti beans
2 bay leaves

Europe
Italy
Stew
Spicy
Mediterranean
Soup
March
England
Vegetarian

Method

Rinse the beans in cold water and soak them overnight.

Drain the beans and place them in a saucepan, cover with fresh water and bring to the boil. Drain again and cover with more fresh water.

If not soaking overnight, rinse the beans in cold water, cover with fresh cold water and bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and leave in the water to cool for 45 minutes. Drain th