MINESTRONE SOUP

MINESTRONE SOUP

 

 

 

 

Minestrone is a thick soup from Italy. It  is made with vegetables and pasta or rice. Italian say that there is not a set recipe yet. Ingredients depend on tradition and which vegetable are in season. Minestrone is a very good choose for cold days, very rich and healthy.

When I think about Minestrone soup, an Italian restaurant   comes to my mind which  was  in  Wolverhampton  -England. It was a small restaurant , running by a big, talkative Italian lady. She was a   marvelous  cook. Only lunch was  served .  They did not have many chooses  in the  menu  but all  were special and delicious. Minestrone soup was one of them. After tiring shopping me and  my dear friend( who we lost  two years ago) had lunch there many times. We always enjoyed.

 And then that Italian lady decided to retire and left the restaurant her son, went back to Italy.  Unfortunately after her  leaving, food was not the same. Her son could not be successful  as much as his mother and the restaurant closed.  All the good memories of my friend and the restaurant are still with me.


 

 

INGREDIENTS
2  tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, diced
2 celery sticks, sliced
2 medium potatoes, diced
2 zucchinis, chopped
150 g- 5 oz green beans, cut into short lengths
250g-8 oz  cabbage, shredded
2 cups chicken stock- broth
2 cups water
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 can 400g- 14 oz, diced tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree-paste
1 can 300g-10 oz  cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp. chopped parsley
1 tsp oregano
1 bay leave
1 cup small  pasta
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp. grated Parmesan chees

      Herbs are from my garden.















Top and tail beans and chop into small pieces, shred cabbage. Chop onions .  Slice celery stick. Peel and diced potatoes , zucchinis and carrots.
Heat the oil in a deep pan, add onion and garlic , cook until they are golden brown. Add carrots and celery stick, beans, zucchinis , cabbage, oregano and bay leave. Stir in water , chicken stock , tomato puree and tomatoes . Season with salt and pepper.  Bring to boil reduce heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Add pasta and cannellini beans cook further 15 minus or until soup is thick, vegetables are cooked and pasta is tender. Add parsley. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.