European · 50 min · Easy · 6 servings

Minestrone Soup

Name: Minestrone Soup
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 3 tbsp olive oil; 1 onion, finely diced; 2 carrots, diced; 2 stalks celery sticks, diced; 4 garlic cloves, minced; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 1 can chopped tomatoes; 1 can white beans, drained and rinsed; 1 zucchini, diced; 6 cups vegetable stock; 4¼ oz small pasta; 3½ oz baby spinach; 1 tsp dried oregano; 1 bay leaf; 1 handful fresh basil, torn; salt, to taste; black pepper, to taste

A generous vegetable soup with beans and small pasta, built on a slowly softened base of onion, carrot and celery. The kind of pot that improves every time you reheat it.

~260 cal per serving — Calories are approximate, per serving — a guide only.

nut-freesoy-free

Plan it:

Method

1
Soften the soffritto
⏱ 15 min
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-low heat and cook the onion, carrot and celery slowly until completely soft and sweet. Do not rush this — fifteen minutes here is worth an hour of simmering later.
2
Add tomato
⏱ 7 min
Stir in the garlic and oregano for a minute, then the tomato paste, and let it darken. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until they lose their raw edge.
3
Simmer
⏱ 20 min
Add the stock, beans, zucchini and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the vegetables are tender and the broth has taken on color.
4
Cook the pasta
⏱ 9 min
Stir in the pasta and cook until al dente — it will keep softening in the hot soup, so pull it slightly early.
5
Finish
⏱ 2 min
Wilt in the spinach, remove the bay leaf, and season well with salt and plenty of black pepper. Tear the basil over just before serving.

Notes

Cook the pasta separately if you are making this for leftovers — left in the soup overnight it turns to mush and drinks all the broth. Tagged only as a soup, not a pasta dish; the pasta is a component, not the point.

Cooking this later?Save to Pinterest

Method

Soften the soffritto

Add tomato

Simmer

Cook the pasta

Finish

Notes