Hearty beef soup with basil sauce

Name: Hearty beef soup with basil sauce (Menestrón)
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: small bunch fresh basil; 100 g/3¾ oz feta cheese; salt; 200 g/7 oz green beans, sliced; 500 g/1¼ lb white potatoes, diced; 3 corn cobs, cut into 2.5cm/1in chunks; 150 g/5 oz/1¼ cups penne rigati pasta; ½ celery heart, sliced; 1 kg/2¼ lb beef, preferably brisket, cubed; 1 kg/2¼ lb beef, preferably brisket, cubed; 90 ml/6 tbsp vegetable oil; 150 g/5 oz/1 cup peeled diced carrots; 150 g/5 oz/¾ cup shelled fresh flageolet (small cannellini) beans, or 400 g/14 oz can beans, drained and rinsed; 150 g/5 oz/¾ cup shelled fresh flageolet (small cannellini) beans, or 400 g/14 oz can beans, drained and rinsed; 150 g/5 oz/¾ cup shelled fresh flageolet (small cannellini) beans, or 400 g/14 oz can beans, drained and rinsed; 150 g/5 oz/¾ cup shelled fresh flageolet (small cannellini) beans, or 400 g/14 oz can beans, drained and rinsed; ½ small Savoy cabbage, sliced; 4 litres/7 pints/17½ cups water; ½ medium leek, sliced

Menestrón

Preparation info

Serves
8

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Food and Cooking of Peru

By Flor Arcaya de Deliot

Published 2009

About

This thick soup shows the influence of 19th-century Italian cuisine. The best place to eat it is in the Mantaro Valley in the central Andes Mountains, which produces the finest beef, potatoes and beans with which to prepare it.

Ingredients

90 ml/6 tbsp vegetable oil
1 kg/2¼

Americas
Europe
Peru
Italy
Soup
Starter

Method

Heat 75ml/5 tbsp of the oil in a large pan and brown the beef on all sides. Add the celery and leek and cook gently until soft.
Add the water to the pan with the cabbage and beans. Season. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.<

Ingredients

Method

Photos