Name: Vegetable Minestrone
Yield: Serves 8–10
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to serve; 450 g (1 lb) cooked dried beans, such as cannellini beans or flageolets (you could use canned); 450 g (1 lb) ripe tomatoes, skinned and chopped; 2 litres (3 pints) vegetable stock or water; 1 kg (2¼ lb) broad beans, shelled; 450 g (1 lb) spring cabbage, shredded; A handful of celery leaves; 100 g (4 oz) vermicelli, broken into short lengths; Salt and Freshly ground black pepper; Plenty of chopped parsley, flat-leaf if possible; 2 sticks of celery, chopped; 2 medium carrots, chopped; 2 medium onions, chopped; 4 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation info

Serves
8–10

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Floyd on Italy

By Keith Floyd

Published 1994

About

This is one of the great soups of the world. It is a movable feast that has sustained peasants, gourmets and emperors alike since the time of the Borgias (no irony intended here, by the way, it’s not poisonous). This is my version, which you can adapt to suit your shopping; just remember freshness is everything. And do buy the best Parmesan and grate it yourself; the pre-grated stuff in packets is dull.