Best Classic Minestrone Recipes

CLASSIC MINESTRONE SOUP

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook onion, carrot, celery, garlic and rosemary until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in tomato sauce, beans and 2 1/2 cups water. Add broth, zucchini, pasta and pepper; bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, 10 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in parsley. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese and additional parsley, if desired.

CLASSIC MINESTRONE

Steps:

• In a large pot, heat oil over medium. Add onion, carrots, celery, red-pepper flakes, rosemary, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to turn golden, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Add tomatoes; cook until some of the liquid evaporates, 1 minute. Add potato, cabbage, cannellini beans, and 7 cups water; bring to a boil. Stir in green beans.
• Reduce to a simmer, and cook until all the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; stir in garlic, if using, and basil. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan and, if using, torn basil. Drizzle with more oil, if desired.

CLASSIC MINESTRONE SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan or casserole pot over a low-medium heat and gently fry the onion, celery, carrot, courgette and pancetta for 10 mins. Add the garlic and oregano, and cook for 1 min. Tip in the beans, chopped tomatoes, purée, stock and bay leaf. Season to taste. Bring to the simmer and cook for 30 mins.
• Add the pasta and greens, and cook for a further 10 mins. Ladle into bowls and scatter with the basil and some parmesan.

CLASSIC MINESTRONE

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large saucepan, over medium heat. Add leek, carrots, zucchini, green beans and celery. Cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook for 15 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally.
• Stir in the stock, tomatoes and thyme. Bring to a boil, then replace the lid, and reduce heat to low; simmer gently for 30 minutes.
• Stir in the cannellini beans with liquid and pasta. Simmer for an additional 10 minutes, or until pasta is al dente. Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.

CLASSIC ITALIAN MINESTRONE (SOUPE PAYSANNE)

Steps:

• In a large casserole or soup pot, cook the pork fat over medium-high heat until there is some fat in the bottom of the pot, about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Then add the potatoes, cabbage, chard, onion, and garlic until the greens are wilted, about 5 minutes.
• Pour in the water, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, add the beans, ham or smoked bacon, and tomato, and cook until the beans are tender, 2 to 3 hours.
• Add the elbow macaroni and continue to cook until a spoon can stand straight up in the center of the soup, and the pasta is tender--about 15 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil, and serve.

CLASSIC MINESTRONE WITH PESTO

Steps:

• Rinse spinach leaves, set aside. If using large leaves, you may want to chop them. I just use the bag of small leaves, and don't chop. Heat oil in a large stockpot. Add the leeks, carrots, onion and celery and sauté over medium heat until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the stock or water, potato, zucchini, spinach and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 1 hour. Stir in the beans and salt to taste. Simmer just until the flavors have blended, about 10 minutes. (The soup can be refrigerated for 2 days and reheated just before serving.) I sauté Italian turkey sausage, or cut up precooked chicken/turkey pesto sausage (or anyone you like) and sauté it and then add it to the soup. It adds some additional protein and flavor or you can add basil pesto to taste instead ( ¼ cup is what is suggested in the recipe). Ladle soup into bowls and serve with grated cheese.

BHG CLASSIC MINESTRONE

Steps:

• In a 4-quart Dutch oven cook garlic and onion in hot oil until tender. Add sweet pepper, zucchini, broth, and 2 cups water. Bring to boiling. Rinse and drain beans. Add drained beans and pasta; return to boil. Reduce heat. and simmer, covered, for 10 to 12 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in tomatoes, spinach, and fresh basil (if using). Remove from heat. Season to taste with salt and ground black pepper.
• Top with Parmesan cheese. Serves 6.

CLASSIC MINESTRONE

Steps:

• Place the first 6 ingredients into a large saucepan and heat until sizzling, then cover, lower the heat and sweat the veggies for 15 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally.
• Add the stock or water, tomatoes, herbs and seasoning.
• Bring to a boil, replace the lid and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.
• Add the canned beans and their liquid together with the pasta and simmer for 10 minutes more.
• Check the seasonings and serve hot, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and parsley, if using.

CLASSIC MINESTRONE SOUP

Steps:

• Bring all but last 3 ingredients to boil in large saucepan; cover. Simmer on medium-low heat 45 min.
• Stir in pasta and spinach; cook 10 min. or just until pasta is tender.
• Serve topped with cheese.

CLASSIC MINESTRONE

Steps:

• 1. Bring vegetables, tomatoes, water, cheese rind, and 1 teaspoon salt to boil in a soup kettle or pot. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender but still hold their shape, about 1 hour. (Soup can be refrigerated in airtight container for 3 days or frozen for 1 month. Defrost if necessary and reheat before proceeding with recipe.).
• 2. Add beans and cook just until heated through, about 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat. Stir in pesto (or rosemary-garlic mixture). Adjust seasonings, adding pepper and more salt, if necessary. Ladle soup into bowls and serve immediately.

CLASSIC MINESTRONE

Steps:

• In a casserole heat the olive oil. Add the onions and cook until golden, about 5 to 7 minutes. Then add the carrots and celery and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the beans, bay leaf and thyme and toss for 1 minute. Then add the beef stock, Parmesan rind (if using), plum tomatoes and their juice, and salt and pepper to taste. (Careful with the amount of salt since Parmesan rind will add a salty flavor.) Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Add the potatoes, zucchini and savoy cabbage and cook for 20 minutes more or until the vegetables are tender. Finally, add your pasta and cook, covered, for about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, ladle into bowls and serve with some pesto.

CLASSIC MINESTRONE

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large saucepan, over medium heat. Add leek, carrots, zucchini, green beans and celery. Cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook for 15 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally. Stir in the stock, tomatoes and thyme. Bring to a boil, then replace the lid, and reduce heat to low; simmer gently for 30 minutes. Stir in the cannellini beans with liquid and pasta. Simmer for an additional 10 minutes, or until pasta is al dente. Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.