Minestrone Alla Lombarda

Name: Minestrone Alla Lombarda
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: 50 g (1¾ oz) streaky green bacon, finely chopped; 2 strips pork belly, cut into fine cubes; 2 leaves fresh sage; 50 g (2 oz) pork dripping; 8 fresh basil leaves; 1 large clove garlic, peeled and very finely chopped; 1 large red onion, finely chopped; ¼ cabbage, leaves coarsely chopped; ½ teaspoon tomato paste; 200 g (7 oz) rice or small size pasta; 225 g (8 oz) fresh borlotti beans (or 115 g (4 oz) dried – soaked overnight and brought back to the boil twice); 225 g (8 oz) shelled peas (frozen, only if you really have no alternative); 2 sticks celery, very finely chopped; olive oil; 2 courgettes, finely sliced; freshly grated Parmesan cheese; salt and pepper; a handful of fresh parsley, washed and very finely chopped; 2 carrots, scraped and very finely chopped; 450 g (1 lb) ripe tomatoes; 3 floury potatoes, peeled and left whole

Lombard Minestrone

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Recipes from an Italian Farmhouse

By Valentina Harris

Published 1995

About

This is the original ‘big soup’ – so stiff it is almost solid cold – containing lots of fresh vegetables, rice and Parmesan cheese to nourish and satisfy.

Ingredients

2 sticks celery, very finely chopped
2 carrots, scraped and very finely chopped
2 courgettes

Europe
Italy
Soup
Mediterranean
Gluten-free

Method

Prepare and mix the celery, carrots, courgettes and potatoes. Dip the tomatoes in boiling water. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon, discarding the seeds, quickly peel, then chop them.

Put the dripping, parsley and garlic in a 3 litre (6½