Name: Livorno Minestrone (Minestrone alla Livornese)
Yield: Serves 6–8
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: 1 lb (450 g) fresh or 8 oz (225 g) dried cannellini or borlotti beans; ¼ savoy cabbage; 5 oz (150 g) fresh spinach; 6 leaves Swiss chard or dark green lettuce leaves; 2 oz (50 g) prosciutto crudo or unsmoked fat back bacon; 1 oz (25 g) parsley, finely chopped; 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped; 1 carrot, scraped and cut into thin strips; 1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced; 1 courgette, cut into thin strips; 1 potato, peeled and cut into thin strips; 1 stick celery, cut into thin strips; 2 strips belly pork, cubed; 1 tablespoon tomato purée, diluted with 1 ladleful very hot water; 3½ pints (2 litres) meat stock or broth; salt; 2 heaped tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese; 9 oz (250 g) long-grain rice

Preparation info

Serves
6–8

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Italian Regional Cookery

By Valentina Harris

Published 1990

About

The word minestrone actually means ‘big soup’ - in other words, one which contains lots of different ingredients and is power-packed for larger appetites! This particular recipe comes from the bustling port of Livorno, where ferries and cargo boats come and go amongst the everlasting atmosphere of rich medieval history, and where the surrounding fertile countryside yields much of the wide variety of vegetables that are required to make it. Use fresh beans if at all possible.