Gloagburn Minestrone

Name: Gloagburn Minestrone
Cuisine: United Kingdom
Ingredients: 1 aubergine, diced; 1 courgette, diced; 1 red pepper, diced; 400 g tin chopped tomatoes; 2 tbsp tomato purée; 150 g orzo; 100 g shredded kale or savoy cabbage; 100 g shredded kale or savoy cabbage; 30 g Parmesan, grated; a little finely chopped parsley; salt and freshly ground black pepper; salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1 smoked ham shank; 1 large carrot, peeled and diced; 2 onions, one whole and unpeeled, one peeled and finely chopped

Preparation info

Serves
6–8

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Gloagburn

By Alison Niven

Published 2025

About

Here is my Scottish take on minestrone, using a smoked ham shank to flavour the stock. It’s an excellent way to use up vegetables, so you can make it with whatever you have in the fridge and it will still be delicious.

Ingredients

1 smoked ham shank
2 onions, one whole and unpeeled, one peeled and finely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and diced

United Kingdom
Scottish
Soup
Scotland

Method

Put the ham shank into your soup pot and cover with 3 litres of cold water. Bring it up to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for an hour. Add the whole unpeeled onion and simmer for another 30 minutes, then extract the ham shank and discard the onion. Set the ham shank aside to cool.
Add the chopped onion, carrot, aubergine, courgette, red pepper and the