A classic Italian Minestrone is not something to be messed with. Although my favorite part of it is that the whole idea is to mess with it. Using whatever vegetables happen to be in season is the best way to make this hearty vegetable soup.
The history of Minestrone
When I say Classic Italian Minestrone, it is no joke because minestrone dates all the way back to before the Roman Empire. There are records of minestrone dating back to the 2nd century B.C. When the Romans conquered Italy, the Italians were introduced to an assortment of new foods and vegetables. The Romans were rich, baby! I'm sure the conquest wasn't great for the original Italians, but I guess they evened it by ending up with a few new vegetables.
Minestrone comes from the word minestra, which means soup in Italian. There are written recipes describing Minestrone as early as 30 A.D. That is almost 2,000 years ago. A cookbook called De Re Coquinaria that has a recipe called Polus which could have been the original classic Italian minestrone. Or maybe the Romans would've called it Roman minestrone.
I love making dishes that have a history to them. A lot of Italians, like to keep exactly with tradition. I'm not in that camp. I like to use what I have available to me now that they maybe didn't have available to them when they thought the earth was flat.
What you'll need to make minestrone
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup green beans, chopped
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 1 can kidney beans, rinsed
- 1 bag of spinach
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup ditalini
- 10 basil leaves
- 2 bay leaves
- 2-3 tsp salt
- 2 tsp pepper
- 1½ tbsp oregano
- 3 tbsp olive oil
Minestrone is supposed to be a vegetarian dish, but I still use chicken broth if I am buying store-bought. I just don't like boxed vegetable broth. If I have enough vegetable scraps saved in my freezer I'll make my own vegetable broth.
Also, you can use whatever vegetables are in season. The base vegetables that you always need are carrots, celery, and onion. Green beans, kidney beans, spinach, and zucchini can all be substituted.
How to make minestrone easy
Soups can all be very similar. You always start with the base. It is a good thing to get down because it is the base of most soups.
How to make a soup base
Start by adding olive oil to a large dutch oven on medium-high heat. Once the oil is shimmering pour in the carrots, celery, and onion. Always make sure that you chop them in similar sizes so that they will cook at the same pace.
Stir the vegetables and season with salt, pepper, and oregano. Seasoning in layers will help more flavor develop over the course of making the soup. Saute the vegetables until they are soft, about 8 minutes.
Once the vegetables are soft add in the garlic and stir for 1- 2 minutes. You will start to smell the fragrance of garlic. Then add in the tomato paste and allow it to sit directly on the bottom of the pot for 2 minutes. This will help caramelize the flavor of the tomato. Next, stir the tomato paste throughout the vegetables and saute for another 2 minutes.
How to Soupify the Soup
Start by adding the crushed tomatoes first. Stir the vegetables well throughout the crushed tomatoes and bring them to a simmer. Once it is simmering, start adding in the chicken broth, until you fill up the pot. Stir in the basil, bay leaves, more oregano, salt, pepper, green beans, zucchini, kidney beans, and a parmesan rind if you have it. Bring the soup to a simmer and cover leaving an opening for steam to escape. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove the cover and add the ditalini. Stir well and simmer for another 15 minutes until the macaroni is cooked. Stir often because the ditalini will sink to the bottom and get stuck to the pan.
Finally, add the spinach and cover for the final two minutes to wilt the spinach. Remove the cover and stir it well throughout the soup. Serve with parmesan and crusty Italian bread!
Saving the soup
This recipe makes a double batch. One for now, and one to store in the freezer. When you reheat the frozen minestrone, add some chicken broth because the beans and pasta will soak up some of the liquid. Eating this recipe day 2 always yields a thicker soup.
Why do you put a parmesan rind in your soup?
I put parmesan rind in almost all of my soups. It adds a salty and nutty flavor. It's a way to use every part of the cheese so that you have absolutely no waste. It's the same reason I save all of my vegetable scraps. I'm not trying to say that you can ONLY use homemade vegetable stock. I just think it's a nice way to use the vegetable scraps that would otherwise be thrown away.
Everyone loves minestrone. Unless they hate vegetables, of course. If you love this recipe, add it to your grocery list this year and print it below. Leave a comment and a review below to let us know what you think.
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If you're looking for some more hearty soups, look no further!
Broccoli Rabe and Tortellini Soup
📖 Recipe
Classic Italian Minestrone
Ingredients
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup green beans, chopped
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 1 can kidney beans, rinsed
- 1 bag of spinach
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 cup ditalini
- 10 basil leaves
- 2 bay leaves
- 2-3 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon pepper
- 1½ tablespoon oregano
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- In a large pot add 3 tablespoon of olive oil and bring to medium heat. Add carrots, onions, and celery. Stir well and saute for 8 minutes until vegetables are soft season with salt and pepper. Once the vegetables have become soft, add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Then add tomato paste and stir until incorporated. Allow the vegetables to sit for 3 minutes.
- Add the crushed tomatoes and bring them to a boil. Then add the chicken broth and bring it to a boil again. Stir in the zucchini, green beans, kidney beans, basil, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and oregano. Bring the soup to a simmer and cover leaving a small gap for air to escape and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Take the cover off and add the ditalini. Simmer for another 15 minutes or until the ditalini is soft.
- Add the spinach and cover for 2 more minutes to wilt the spinach and then stir well. Serve with crusty bread.
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