I am not sure if there is a “proper” Minestrone recipe, all I know this is one of the best ones I’ve tried. Kudos to Mr Jamie (Oliver) who once again, showed he knows what he’s doing. The fastest way to show off to your guests (or your husband). PLUS full of vegetables (and flavour).
High quality bacon is important, I used smoked “Agroikia” bacon from Lidl.
Ingredients (* from Lidl)
- 1 clove of garlic*
- 1 onion*
- 2 carrots*
- 2 sticks of celery*
- 1 courgette*
- 1 large potato (or 2 small ones)*
- 1 x 400g tin of cannellini beans
- 2 rashers of higher-welfare smoked streaky bacon*
- olive oil*
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano*
- 1 fresh bay leaf
- 2 x 400g tins of plum tomatoes
- 1 litre vegetable stock*
- 1 large seasonal greens, such as savoy cabbage, curly kale, chard if you wish
- 100 g wholemeal pasta
- Parmesan cheese*
Method
- Wash, clean, peel (if necessary) and chop all the vegetables, drain the canellini beans and finely slice the bacon.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the bacon and fry gently for 2 minutes, or until golden.
- Add the vegetables, leave out the beans, tomatoes and stock. Cook for about 15 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
- Add the cannellini beans and plum tomatoes, then pour in the vegetable stock. Stir well, breaking up the tomatoes with the back of a spoon.
- Cover with a lid and bring everything slowly to the boil, then simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the potato is cooked through. Meanwhile…
- Bash the pasta into pieces.
- Once you are confident that all the vegetables are soft add the pasta. Cook for another 5 minutes and remove from the stove. The pasta may need longer but it will continue to cook until after the heat is off.
- Add a splash more stock or water to loosen, if needed.
- Serve with grated parmesan and/or croutons if you wish
