Minestrone

With the end of October I start cooking thick soups because they are heaven when you need to satisfy the soul. Trying to recover after the long day spent at work, I dedicated the dinner to minestrone. Just like any other recipe representing Italian kitchen, this vegetable soup was completely right decision – thick, hearty and very filling. After some research I found that this soup has numerous variations and technically almost everything whatever you want makes your minestrone. 

So, here’s what I used for my version of minestrone:

Serves: 6

Cooking time: about 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 carrot, cut into pieces
• 2 potatoes, cut into pieces
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 celery stick, cut into pieces
• 1 courgette, diced
• 200 grams cannellini beans, cooked and drained
• 1.5l good quality vegetable stock
• 2 handfuls of pasta (I used penne)
• 2 handfuls of spinach
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra to serve
• salt, pepper, some bay leafs
• Some parmesan to serve (grated)

1. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pot and add the onion and garlic. Heat them on a medium heat for 3 minutes.
2. Add the carrots and cook for some time.
3. Now it’s time for all your other vegetables. According to their cooking time, add potatoes, courgette and celery and cook them all for 5 minutes
4. Add the stock, the cannellini beans, pasta and some bay leafs. Bring to boil and simmer your soup for 20 minutes under the medium heat.
5. Finally, add the handful of spinach and season your soup with salt and pepper to taste. Check your potatoes and paste. If they are cooked, you are ready to serve!
6. Serve with some splashes of olive oil and parmesan.