Minestrone

My dear friend, Arlene, makes this soup and I’ve had the good fortune to share a bowl with her a few times this winter. It is the perfect meal for cold days: warm, healthy, sicks-to-your-ribs. it is comfort in a pot. I had lunch with Arlene recently (she made a lentil soup that day), and she showed me her broken and battered (ie lovingly used) Marcella Hazan cookbook that she got when she was living in Rome in the 80s. I took pictures of the recipe for MINESTRONE ALLA ROMAGNOLA and just made it today. Would love to hear if you make it!

DIRECTIONS & INGREDIENTS:

  • 1/2 cup olive oil

  • 3 Tbps butter

  • 1 cup thinly sliced yellow onion

  • 1 cup diced carrots

  • 1 cup diced celery

  • 2 cups peeled, diced potatoes

  • 2 cups diced zucchini

  • 1 cup diced green beans

  • 3 cups shredded cabbage

  • 6 cups broth (beef or chicken or veggie)

  • The rind from a 1 or 2 lb chunk of parmesan (I used a few smaller rinds)

  • 2/3 cup canned Italian tomatoes, with their juice (I used a whole 14.5 oz can )

  • 1 1/2 cups canned cannellini beans or Great Northern beans, drained

  • 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

A nice thing about this recipe, says Arlene, is that you can chop one veggie at a time and add it to the pot, layering the flavors as you go.

In a large pot, add oil, butter, and sliced onions and cook over medium-low heat until the onion wilts and is pale gold in color but not browned.

Add the diced carrots and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Repeat this with the celery, potatoes, zucchini, and green beans.

Add the shredded cabbage and cook for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the broth, the cheese rind, the tomatoes + their juice, and a little bit of salt.
Cover and cook at a very low boil for 3 hours.

Marcella writes that “minestrone must never be thin and watery, so cook until it is soupy thick. If you should find that the soup is becoming too thick, you can add another cup” of broth or water.

Fifteen minutes before the soup is done, add the canned beans. Just before turning off the heat, remove the cheese rinds, swirl in the grated cheese, then taste and adjust the salt if needed.

Enjoy!

Kimberly Larkinsoup, minestrone, Marcella HazanComment