Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Minestrone for Spring


I love having a fresh tasting Minestrone in early spring, when the sun is starting to shine through but there is still a chill in the air. Minestrone comes from the part of Italian cooking called 'cucina povera' - the poor kitchen and it can vary a lot depending on the chef and what vegetables are in season. This is my Spring version.

Olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 leek, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
2 potatoes, chopped
3 ripe tomatoes chopped (you could use a can of tomatoes, but I use fresh tomatoes to keep the flavour a little lighter)
1 1/2 cups of water
2 1/2 cups of vegetable stock (I prefer the kind bought in liquid form, it is so much tastier, but here I am stuck with cubes)
1 cup of pasta
Spring onions, chopped -about a handful for soup and extra to serve.
Grated Parmesan (to serve)
It is also delicious and fresh tasting with basil stirred through it just before serving - I just couldn't get my hands on any.

Cook onion and garlic in large saucepan until onion softens. Add leek and carrot, cook for 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, potatoes, water and stock and bring to the boil. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Cook pasta. Stir pasta through soup. A few minutes before serving stir through spring onions. Serve with spring onions, parmesan and pepper on top. And of course some delicious thick pieces of bread.


Perfect after a morning working in the garden or running after a certain 16 month old at the park!

3 comments:

Simple Answer said...

Your photos look very delish! I actually had minestrone for lunch today - but I got it at work. It was good. Big chunks of zucchini.

Anonymous said...

It looks so yummy!!
Try your minestrone with beans too, and smash some of the beans before serving, that's delicious :)

Anonymous said...

It looks just delicious - I too add zuccini and beans (green and canned cannelli ?). We are still in the middle of very warm autumn days here in Melb but I am looking forward to winter and lots of rain.