Minestrone

Name: Minestrone
Yield: Serves 8
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: about 1.35 kg/ 3 lb assorted vegetables, for example equal amounts of courgettes, French beans, broccoli, leeks, potatoes, peas, carrots and onions; 3 celery stalks; 8 tbsp Pesto sauce, to serve; piece of ham bone (optional); 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced; salt and pepper; 250 g/ 8 oz soup pasta; 6 tbsp olive oil; 250 g/ 8 oz dried borlotti beans, soaked overnight

Preparation info

Serves
8

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Daily Mail Modern British Cookbook

By Alastair Little and Richard Whittington

Published 1998

About

There is no absolute recipe for minestrone, but it should always contain beans and a soup pasta like ditalini. Many Italians insist that it is cooked with a Parma ham bone for the flavour, but there is no reason why minestrone should not be entirely vegetarian.

Ingredients

250 g/ 8 oz dried borlotti beans, soaked overnight
250 g/ 8

Europe
Italy
Mediterranean
Soup

Method

Drain the soaked beans, cover with fresh water and bring to the boil. Boil vigorously for 10 minutes, then drain. Cover with fresh water, bring back to the boil and simmer for about 1½ hours. Do not salt the water as this will toughen the skins of the beans.

Cook the soup pasta in plenty of rapidly boiling salted water until half done. Drain and reserve. Add