Minestrone is a template rather than a fixed recipe. In Italy it changes with whatever is cheap that week, which makes it the most useful soup a budget kitchen can learn. The carrots, celery and zucchini here can become green beans, cabbage, chard stems or half a bag of frozen mixed vegetables without changing anything else about how it is made.
Two cans of beans do more than add protein. Their starch thickens the broth as they warm through, which is why minestrone has body without any cream or flour in it. Mashing half a cup of them against the side of the pot before serving thickens it further, at no cost.
Cook the pasta in the pot only if the soup is being eaten that night. Pasta left sitting in broth keeps drinking it, and by the next day the soup has turned into a casserole. For leftovers, boil the pasta separately and add it to each bowl.
Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 carrots diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 1 zucchini diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 can 14.5 oz diced tomatoes
- 5 cups vegetable broth
- 1 can 15 oz kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can 15 oz cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup green beans chopped
- 1 cup small pasta ditalini or elbow macaroni
- 2 cups spinach
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Grated Parmesan cheese for serving, optional
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
- Add the onion, carrots, celery, and zucchini. Cook for 6-8 minutes until softened.
- Stir in the garlic, Italian seasoning, and tomato paste. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add the diced tomatoes, vegetable broth, kidney beans, cannellini beans, and green beans.
- Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Stir in the pasta and cook until tender according to the package directions.
- Add the spinach during the last 2 minutes of cooking until wilted.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve warm with grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.
