I love a good minestrone soup! Some people think it is just a chucked together soup of leftover veggies. But if you get the balance right, this soup can be a high-end-cuisine dish. One thing is sure,.. It is definitely a FEEL GOOD soup!
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
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🥘 Main ingredients
Minestrone soup is a hearty Italian vegetable soup, which traditionally is
made with left-over vegetables. So I would stick with the tradition
and use whatever vegetables you like in this soup. Think of for example;
- onions
- celery
- carrots
- tomatoes
- beans
- peas
- parsnip
- turnip
- potato
- sweet potato
- pumpkin
- cabbage
- lentils
- chickpeas
- green leaves
- and so on....
For me personally, The one thing not to cut out are the cannellini beans, I just love them! But on top of that they give the soup such an Italian feel and flavour. Some prefer to substitute the pasta for rice.
As you can see the options are just amazing with a minestrone soup recipe. So my recipe is just a start, an indication to making a full filling and warming minestrone soup.
📖 FAQ, Is Minestrone always vegan ?
A bit of history;
Minestrone soup is a vegan / vegetarian delish 'by necessity'. It goes all the way back to the Roman kingdom, pre-dating the Roman Republic, and later the Roman empire. Back then the local diet consisted of vegetables, and a filling porridge of spelt flour.
But when Rome had conquered Italy and monopolized the commercial and road networks, a huge diversity of products flooded the capital and began to change the diet. Noticeably with more frequent inclusion of meats, including as a stock for soups.
So, keep in mind when eating in a restaurant. Your beloved Minestrone might be made with animal protein stock. If you are vegan or vegetarian make sure to ask the waiter.
🍵 Other soup suggestions
When the colder days arrive, I can't wait to get my first soups on the go. The pleasures of winter 😉 If you are interested in other warming soup recipes, send me a little message because I have a FREE WINTER WARMING SOUP RECIPES E-book to give away!
Or check out some other recipes a have uploaded here on my site;
- The delicious and healthy Romanesco soup
- The asian spiced red curry & noodle soup
- I love the roasted parsnip & roasted garlic soup
- A smoky and warming celeriac soup
- A rich vegan stroganoff soup
- Or my favourite Chinese won-ton soup
Lots of soups to choose from for those colder nights.
I love to hear or SEE, your minestrone soup creations! Please @haricoco1 to your instagram post. Or leave a comment down below...
📋 Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
- 2 carrots peeled and sliced
- 2 celery stalks finely chopped
- 1 can (400 grams) Cannellini beans (or 200 grams pre-cooked dry beans) rinsed and drained
- 1 can ( 400 grams) of diced tomato with juice
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1200 ml (5 cups) vegetable stock
- 160 grams pasta shapes
- 350 grams of mixed left-over vegetables this can be; potato, pumpkin, courgette, leek, peas and/or green beans etc.
- 1 large handful green leaves (optional) cabbage, kale, chard, spinach
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a heavy based pan, and sauté the chopped onion, carrot, celery.
- After approx. 5 – 7 minutes, add the garlic, thyme, and oregano, and stir well for 30 seconds.
- Add the cannellini beans, and your chosen (or left-over) vegetables, the diced tomatoes with their juice and the bay leaves.
- Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to a gently simmer, keep covered simmering for approx. 20 - 30 minutes. This will depend on the cooking times of your chosen vegetables.
- When your vegetables are cooked, add the pasta and your chosen greens (if using).
- Cook until the pasta is cooked al-dente (check the package instructions)
- Season with salt and a good amount of pepper. Serve!
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