Minestrone

Name: Minestrone
Yield: 6 to 8 portions
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish; ½ cup small pasta, such as tiny bow shapes or ditali (short macaroni); 4 ripe plum tomatoes, cut into ¼-inch dice; ¾ cup dried red kidney beans, cooked and drained (about 2 cups); 2 cups homemade beef stock or canned broth; 2 cups homemade beef stock or canned broth; 5 tablespoons Chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; 1½ teaspoons dried basil; 2 teaspoons dried oregano; Salt, to taste; 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper; 1 onion, peeled and cut into ¼-inch dice; 2 carrots, peeled and cut into ¼-inch dice; 3 cups finely shredded green cabbage; 1 leek (white part and 1 inch green), well rinsed, quartered lengthwise, and cut into ¼-inch-thick slices; 1 Idaho potato, peeled and cut into ¼-inch dice; 2 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into ¼-inch-thick slices; 4 cups Berta’s Chicken Stock or canned broth; 4 cups Berta’s Chicken Stock or canned broth; 4 ounces salt pork, rind removed and cut into ¼-inch dice; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; 4 cloves garlic, finely minced

Preparation info

6 to 8
portions

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The New Basics Cookbook

By Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso

Published 1989

About

Minestrone, the quintessential Italian vegetable soup, varies from region to region throughout that country. In Milan it is made with rice and peas (not beans), in Genoa pesto is added, in Florence the beans are cooked separately and half of them puréed to thicken the soup, and in southern Italy minestrone is based on garlic.

While we generally serve minestrone as a hot first course, in Italy, in the summertime, we’ve enjoyed it at room temperature. In any season, though, it must be

Ingredients

Europe
Italy
Mediterranean
Soup

Ingredients

Method