How to make minestrone

What is minestrone?

At its heart minestrone is a simple Italian vegetable and pasta soup, that came about as a way of using up the excess vegetables from the family's plot, the ends of the parmesan cheese and the broken bits of pasta. There is no one classic recipe, although tomatoes, zucchinis and fresh herbs such as parsley and basil are all classic additions to the pot.

Make it seasonal

The most important thing to remember with minestrone is to make it seasonal. Use peas, mint, zucchini and broad beans in spring, or kale, dried beans, root vegetables and squash in winter. Look for what's in season and adjust the below recipe to suit what you have on hand.

How to up the flavour

When it comes to adding even more flavour to your minestrone, there are a few key ways that will make it shine:

Parmesan cheese

Add a hefty sprinkle of fresh parmesan shards to the top of each bowl before serving. They'll soften in the bowl, but keep their flavour, adding a creamy bite of cheesy goodness to each bowl. Alternatively, save up the rinds from old pieces of Parmesan cheese and pop them into your soup pot for some extra flavour, just remember to remove before serving.

Olive oil

Add an extra drizzle of your very best olive oil to the top of the each bowl for extra flavour.

Fresh basil and parsley

Regardless of if you've added fresh herbs to the pot while cooking, add a few more torn leaves to the top of each bowl for an even more concentrated flavour.

Pesto

Add a dollop of fresh pesto, either homemade or store bought, to the top of each bowl of soup before serving. When swirled through the hot soup, it will add oodles of extra flavour that perfectly compliments those already found in the pot.

What you'll need

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
100 g pancetta or bacon, finely diced
2 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 potatoes, diced
1 x 400 g can chopped tomatoes
2 L chicken stock
1 x 400 g borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
80 g pasta, broken into small pieces
170 g zucchini, diced
3 silverbeet leaves, shredded
200 g frozen peas
6 tablespoons pesto, to serve
Basil leaves, torn, to serve
Parmesan cheese, grated, to serve

Step 1

Heat oil in a large saucepan, then sauté the onion, garlic and pancetta for 10 minutes or until the onion is soft but not coloured.

Step 2

Add the celery, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes or until the carrots and potatoes are soft. Add the beans, pasta and zucchini and cook for a further eight minutes, or until the pasta is almost cooked.

Step 3

Add the silverbeet and peas and cook for a further two minutes, or until the vegetables are all cooked and the pasta is done. Season to taste and ladle into six serving bowls. Add a tablespoon of pesto to each bowl, sprinkle over fresh basil leaves and parmesan cheese and serve.