Minestrone
Italy's everyday vegetable soup: slowly softened vegetables simmered with tomato, cannellini beans and little pasta, finished with Parmigiano and olive oil.
Method
Prepare all the vegetables. Dice the onion, carrot and celery into 5 mm pieces and mince the garlic. Cut the potato and courgette into 1.5 cm cubes and shred the cabbage into 1 cm strips; even sizes cook evenly. Rinse and drain the beans in a sieve.
Heat most of the olive oil in a 20 cm pot, add the onion, carrot and celery and cook over medium-low heat for . When the onion is translucent and the vegetables are soft, add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. This soffritto is the flavour base of the soup, so cook it gently without letting it brown.
Add in this stepExtra-virgin olive oil 1 tbspOnion 80 gCarrot 70 gCelery 60 gGarlic cloves 1
medium-low heatAdd the potato and tomatoes and cook over medium heat for , stirring, to cook off the raw edge of the tomato.
Add in this stepPotato 120 gCanned chopped tomatoes 200 g
medium heatPour in the stock, bring to a boil over high heat, then lower to medium-low heat, set the lid ajar and simmer for . Move on when the potato is almost tender and a knife tip slides in.
Add in this stepVegetable stock (or water plus a stock cube) 700 ml
high heat→medium-low heatAdd the courgette, cabbage, beans and pasta and simmer over medium heat for . Stir often so the pasta doesn't stick to the bottom, and add a splash of hot water if the soup gets too thick. It's ready when the pasta is tender.
Add in this stepCourgette (zucchini) 120 gCabbage (Savoy if possible) 80 gCanned cannellini beans, drained 120 gSmall pasta (ditalini or similar) 40 g
medium heatTurn off the heat, season with salt and pepper and tear in the basil leaves. Cover and leave for : the flavours settle and it cools to a comfortable eating temperature.
Add in this stepSalt to tasteBlack pepper to tasteBasil leaves 4
Ladle into bowls, scatter with Parmigiano and finish with a thread of the remaining olive oil. Crusty bread on the side is perfect.
Add in this stepParmigiano Reggiano, grated 20 gExtra-virgin olive oil ½ tbsp
Cook's tip
There's no fixed list of vegetables in minestrone: swap in the same weight of seasonal ones such as peas, green beans, spinach or kale. If you have a Parmigiano rind, simmer it with the stock for deeper flavour and fish it out before serving. When reheating the next day, add a little water, as the pasta keeps drinking up the broth.
Cooking it at camp
Chop the onion, carrot, celery and potato at home and pack them in zip bags, and at camp it's a one-pot meal. Strong camp burners scorch the bottom easily, so keep the flame low and stir often. A stock cube dissolved in water keeps your pack light.