You can vary the ingredients in this robust, classic soup to suit your own tastes by using any fresh, seasonal vegetables, some small pasta shapes and a choice of canned beans.
ingredients
serves 4
1 small leek
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic
2 medium sticks celery
2 medium zucchinis
A sprig of parsley
2 cups canned cannellini beans
14 ounce canned chopped tomatoes
1 bay leaf
5/8 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup soup-pasta shapes
1 lemon
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 pound savoy or other green cabbage
Salt and black pepper
To serve:
loaf of crusty bread
4 tablespoons pesto sauce, optional
method
1. Put a kettle of water on to boil. Trim, halve and slice the leek, rinse well, then drain in a colander.
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the leek for 1 minute. Peel the garlic and crush it into the pan.
3. Rinse and finely slice the celery and stir it into the pan. Rinse and trim the zucchinis. Cut them in half lengthways and then into half-moon slices. Add them to the pan and cook for another 3 minutes.
4. Rinse the parsley and drain and rinse the beans, then add them both to the pan with the tomatoes, bay leaf, white wine, pasta and 2 cups of boiling water. Wash any wax from the lemon, then finely pare off a strip of rind and add it to the pan. Cover, bring back to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 7 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, grate half the Parmesan cheese into the soup, then finely shred, rinse and add the cabbage. Season to taste, then simmer for another 5 minutes.
6. Remove the bay leaf, transfer the minestrone into four bowls, and grate the rest of the cheese over the top of each bowl.
7. Serve the soup with crusty bread and a small, separate bowl of pesto sauce.
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