Minestrone soup
Vegetables, beans and pasta with fresh basil pesto
A hearty Italian vegetable soup with cannellini beans, cabbage and a little spaghetti, finished with a bright basil and tomato pesto stirred in at the end. Don't let it boil hard once the vegetables are in: over-boiled soups lose their colour and body. Serve hot with crisp garlic toast.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the soup
- 1.5 litres vegetable stock6 cups
- 1 onionchopped
- 4 ½ oz carrots1 cup, chopped
- 3 ½ oz celery1 cup, chopped
- 10 ½ oz potatoes2 cups, cubed
- 5 oz cabbage2 cups, chopped
- 3 ⅞ oz fresh green beans1 cup, in 5 cm pieces
- 1 ¼ lb cooked cannellini or white kidney beans3 cups
- ⅔ oz spaghettiboiled
- 1 tsp saltor to taste
- ½ tsp ground black pepperor to taste
For the basil pesto
- ⅞ oz basil leaves1 cup, well packed
- 6 ½ oz tomatoes1 cup, chopped
- ½ tsp garlic paste
- ½ tsp saltor to taste
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (9)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Rinse ⅞ oz basil leaves and drain it well.
Step 2: Put the basil, 6 ½ oz tomatoes, ½ tsp garlic paste and ½ tsp salt in a blender and purée until smooth. Set the pesto aside.
Step 3: Bring 1.5 litres vegetable stock to the boil in a large pan.
Step 5: Add 10 ½ oz potatoes, 5 oz cabbage and 3 ⅞ oz fresh green beans and simmer for 10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
10 minStep 6: Stir in 1 ¼ lb cooked cannellini or white kidney beans, ⅔ oz spaghetti and the pesto and heat thoroughly, without boiling hard.
3 minStep 7: Season with 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp ground black pepper and serve hot with crisp garlic toast.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 200 kcal
- Protein
- 10 g
- Carbs
- 37 g
- Fat
- 1 g
- Fibre
- 10 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does minestrone soup take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- What can I use instead of vegetable stock?
- Chicken stock, same amount (not vegetarian).
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Boiled pasta
The basic method for any dried pasta, from penne to spaghetti. A large pan of salted boiling water keeps the pasta from sticking, and you cook it only until just done, with a little bite left. Use it in salads, bakes or with any sauce.
Ful nabitSprouted fava bean soup
Sprouted beans are ladled out with their cooking liquor in Cairo homes when the weather turns cold or someone is feeling run down, and Egyptians swear by the broth as a pick-me-up. The beans are soaked and left to sprout for a few days, then simmered with onion, garlic and cumin into a light, earthy soup that is sharpened at the table with plenty of lemon. You can eat the beans with a spoon or pop them from their skins. Allow 3 to 4 days for sprouting, although the hands-on work is only about 20 minutes. People with G6PD deficiency (favism) must not eat fava beans. Chef's tip: stop the sprouting when the shoots are about 1 cm long; longer sprouts taste grassy and bitter.
Egyptian
Tiyula itumBlack beef soup
Tiyula itum, 'black soup', is the pride of the Tausug people of Sulu in the far south of the Philippines, cooked for weddings, Eid celebrations and when guests come home. Beef (it is a halal, pork-free dish) is simmered with ginger, lemongrass and turmeric, then darkened with pamapa itum, a paste of grated coconut toasted until almost black and pounded with spices. The broth looks dramatic but tastes smoky, earthy and gently peppery, with heat from chillies. Serve it with plain rice. Chef's tip: toast the coconut slowly, stirring all the time, until it is very dark brown but not ashy; burnt-to-ash coconut tastes bitter and ruins the soup.
FilipinoPerfect for:Winter warmers