Minestrone is a true classic of Italian cuisine. Such a vegetable soup fell in love not only for its taste, but also for the ease of preparation. The classic Minestrone recipe provides for the use of a large number of vegetables that need to be cut into identical pieces - so they will not lose their shape and better absorb all the juices.
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Classic recipe
Many people love Italian cuisine because of the simple and affordable ingredients you can cook delicious dishes. One of such culinary masterpieces is Minestrone vegetable soup.
Ingredients:
- one onion and one carrot;
- one zucchini and sweet pepper;
- two large potatoes;
- large tomato;
- two tablespoons of green peas;
- a handful of pasta;
- two stalks of celery;
- two cloves of garlic;
- a slice of Parmesan.
Cooking method:
- Cut carrots, onions, garlic, pepper, zucchini, celery and potatoes into small cubes.
- In a pan, heat the olive oil, spread the onion and garlic, pass until transparent. Then we put the carrots, and as soon as the oil changes color, add celery and pepper.
- After a couple of minutes, spread the zucchini and simmer the vegetables for 20 minutes. We season them with spices and herbs.
- Potatoes can be fried with vegetables or put in boiling water. The amount of water depends on how thick the dish will be, but it is quite possible to limit yourself to one liter, a maximum of one and a half.
- We shift the vegetables into the pan, as soon as the vegetable mass boils, pour green peas and slices of tomato pulp.
- It remains to lay out the pasta and cook the soup until they are completely cooked.
- Minestrone can be served right away, sprinkled with grated Parmesan, but real Italian soup should be infused, so we advise you to endure it until the next day.
More materials:minestrone soup recipe
With meat
Minestrone is prepared only from vegetables, but many gourmets do not imagine a dish without meat. Therefore, especially for them we offer the option of making soup with beef.
Ingredients:
- 320 g of beef;
- half a glass of pasta;
- canned beans (jar);
- two potatoes;
- one zucchini and sweet pepper;
- one onion and one carrot;
- two cloves of garlic.
Cooking method:
- We take a saucepan, preferably with a thick bottom, and fry the pieces of meat in it in olive oil.
- First we put chopped onions, then carrots, cubes of potatoes and zucchini, chopped peppers and grated tomatoes. Do not forget about spices. Stew vegetables for ten minutes.
- After pouring beans, pour water (quantity at your own discretion), after five minutes, lay the pasta and cook Minestrone with meat until the pasta is fully cooked.
- Dress the dish with crushed garlic, served with Parmesan.
Read also:bean soup
In a slow cooker
An Italian soup like Minestrone is known all over the world. It harmoniously combines all the ingredients and create a unique taste. Such a dish is sure to be appreciated by your family, especially if you cook it in a slow cooker.
Ingredients:
- half a glass of pasta;
- three large tomatoes;
- a jar of beans;
- small zucchini;
- carrot, onion;
- petioles of celery;
- three cloves of garlic;
- parsley, dried herbs;
- Parmesan for serving.
Cooking method:
- Pour oil into the bowl of the kitchen appliance, warm it up a little in the “Frying” mode and fry the chopped onion until transparent.
- Take the zucchini. If the skin is rough, then we remove it, and cut the flesh into cubes. Put in a bowl and sprinkle with dried oregano.
- Tomatoes will go next. They also need to be peeled, and finely chop the flesh with a knife. Stir with onions and zucchini, add a little water and continue cooking.
- Cut celery into thin circles, crush the garlic cloves with a knife and chop finely, straighten the vegetables to the rest of the ingredients, change the mode to "Stew" and cook for half an hour.
- After falling asleep, beans and pasta, add salt and pepper to taste, continue cooking in the same mode for another half hour.
- Sprinkle the prepared soup with chopped herbs and Parmesan.
Minestrone from Frozen Vegetables
You can cook Italian vegetable soup at any time of the year, even in winter from frozen mixtures.
You can chop some of the stewed vegetables with a blender, and leave the remaining half in pieces. The soup will be saturated, thick and bright.
Ingredients:
- 320 g of frozen vegetables (mixture);
- bulb;
- three garlic cloves;
- pasta;
- half a glass of tomato paste.
Cooking method:
- In a small saucepan, heat the oil and put the vegetable mixture into it.
- Dice the onion, garlic into thin plates and add to the vegetables along with tomato paste. Mix and continue to simmer for 15 minutes.
- After pouring water, add spices. As soon as the soup begins to boil, lay the pasta or rice. After ten minutes, turn off the stove and give the dish time to brew.
- Serve with herbs and Parmesan cheese.
Smoked Italian Vegetable Soup
Minestrone means "huge soup", and indeed, for its preparation you need a lot of ingredients, but they are all available, and especially in the summer.
Now we want to offer a recipe for vegetable soup with smoked meats, which will give the dish a special flavor.
Ingredients:
- 120 g of red, white and green beans;
- two large tomatoes;
- three garlic cloves;
- two liters of any broth (plain water);
- bulb;
- 320 g smoked brisket;
- a bunch of basil;
- small paste;
- hoursa spoonful of dried herbs, herbs.
Cooking method:
- Soak the beans, and then boil. If you want to speed up the cooking process, take canned beans.
- From the string beans, cut the tails, cut the rest into small pieces.
- We remove the skin from the tomatoes, the pulp is also finely chopped.
- It remains only to finely chop the onion, garlic and cut the brisket into slices.
- Now in a small saucepan, fry the onion and brisket (for this it is better to take olive oil), then lay the beans (all three types) and tomatoes. Pour the broth (water) and simmer the vegetables for 20 minutes.
- Then add the paste, dried herbs, salt and cook for five minutes. Turn off the stove.
- In the bowl, mix the crushed garlic, chopped basil and parsley. Put the spices in the soup immediately before serving.
With kale and white beans
Minestrone soup can be cooked with white beans and kale. It turns out a rather original dish. If you are interested in this option of vegetable soup, then write down the recipe.
Ingredients:
- a jar of white beans;
- three tomatoes;
- bulb;
- two garlic cloves;
- two tablespoons of tomato puree;
- 380 g of kale;
- 0.5 teaspoon dried thyme and red pepper flakes.
Cooking method:
- In a saucepan, heat two tablespoons of oil (preferably olive oil) and sauté chopped onion and garlic in it, seasoning the vegetables with salt and pepper.
- As soon as the onions become soft, put the tomato paste and after half a minute put the chopped cabbage, thyme and pepper flakes. Cooking another two minutes.
- Then spread the beans along with chopped tomatoes and pour four glasses of water, simmer the dish for 15 - 20 minutes.
- Serve vegetable soup with Parmesan.
Possible cooking errors
To spoil the Minestrone is almost impossible if you use quality products. However, such a soup is not always ideal. To avoid mistakes, use our tips.
- Despite the fact that there are recipes for Minestrone with frozen vegetables and canned beans, a real soup is cooked only from fresh vegetables. Of course, preservation and frozen ingredients can reduce the time at the stove, but they change the taste of food, and not for the better. An exception may be only green peas.
- Also, do not add any broth cubes to the dish - such a soup will not tolerate any “chemistry”. Only dried or fresh herbs, such as basil, thyme, rosemary, etc.
- Do not be limited to a certain composition of vegetables for making soup. Italians try to use them as much as possible and in assortment. For example, you can add pumpkin, broccoli, and even mushrooms to the soup.
We hope that now you know what a delicious dish you can pamper your loved ones in the hot summer. Cook Italian soup and serve with croutons, fried bread, cheese and herbs.
