This is one of those Italian words that doesn’t need a translation: it has become standard vocabulary. Translated it means “big soup”: minestra becomes minestrone, just like cucina becomes cucinone: big kitchen.
So, why is this called a big soup then? Quite simply because so much ingredients go into it that it is actually a meal in itself. Therefore minestrone is usually served as the main course in the evening, and never as a primo: the soup just is too big for that!
There is no definitive recipe for minestrone: everybody has a secret, or adds her own touch, recipes vary from region to region, and from season to season. Minestrone should always be made with fresh, seasonal vegetables. So do not try to make the recipe for minestrone from your favorite cookbook in the winter when it calls for ripe tomatoes and zucchini. Stick to the season!
These are the basics: stick to them and you will get your minestrone right each time, whatever the ingredients or season.
- sauté the vegetables and herbs in olive oil untill soft
- add the water or broth and let simmer for 45 minutes
- the more different vegetables you use, less will be the need for broth
- pancetta adds extra depth and taste to the soup
- if you have some Parmigiano-Reggiano rind at hand, then add this to your soup
- a short type of pasta is usually added to the soup; sometimes rice is used
- minestrone usually gets a finishing touch at the table; this can be pesto in summer (Liguarian habit), olive oil or some grated cheese, black pepper. Avoid using both olive oil and cheese.
- you can add a slice of toasted bread if you want
Here is the recipe for a simple, basic winter minestrone, using easily availble ingredients. Don’t be put of by the long list of ingredients: you can get almost all of them at your greengrocer: one stop shopping!
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 onions, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 big branches of celery, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, slivered
- 2 bay leaves
- fresh thyme
- 1 branch rosemary
- 150 gr pancetta,diced
- 250 gr dried white beans, soaked overnight and cooked
- 2 big potatoes, diced
- 500 gr leaves, preferably cavolo nero, (otherwise use spinach, or the outer leaves of savoy cabbage) shredded
- broccoli, cut up in florets
- 100 gr rind of parmigiano-reggiano (optional)
- 150 gr short pasta, such as ditalini, stelle, orzo
- sea salt and freshly milled black pepper
Heat the olive oil in a big soup pot. Add the celery, carrots, onion and garlic, the herbs and the pancetta and let simmer for 30 minutes. Add salt and black pepper. Add the cooking water of the white beans. Bring to the boil and add the leaves, broccoli, potatoes and the cheese rind. Top up with water or broth so that all the vegatables are covered. Let simmer for 45 minutes. Add the pasta and cook for another 15 minutes or untill the pasta is al dente. Finally, add the cooked beans and let them heat through in the soup.
Serve the soup with extra virgin olive oil of the new season, OR (not and) grated parmigiano-reggiano
The minestrone will even taste better next day, and heated up, you can tell your guests they’re having ribollita.
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Posted in soup.
Tagged with soup.
By cucinone
– November 14, 2009
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Posted in general.
Tagged with video.
By cucinone
– November 1, 2009
Pears and pecorino are a classic combination, often served as an end to the meal.
In autumn, when pears are abundant, you can serve this salad as part of antipasto misto, or as a light starter. Make sure the pear is ripe, but still has a crunch to it.
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- some salt
- 1 shallot, finely minced
- 200 g rucola
- 1 pear, cored and finely sliced
- 125 g pecorino, shaved into slivers
Mix the vinegar with the salt, and slowly add the olive oil. Beat till you get a dressing, and then add the shallot.
In a salad bowl, mix the rucola with the pear, add the dressing and mix thoroughly. Put the cheese on top of the salad and serve at once.
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Posted in salads.
Tagged with cheese, fruit, rucola.
By cucinone
– October 21, 2009
Root vegetables are often regarded as old-fashioned and boring. The secret of this dish lies in the combination of several vegetables, and the wonderful, mellow taste they get in the oven, perfumed with garlic and sage. It is also an easy dish, that requires some preparation beforehand, but then sits in the oven roasting away, while you have time to finish other dishes.
You can add or omit vegetables to your liking, but do make sure that they all need the same cooking time in the oven. You may need to blanch some of them to shorten their oven time (potatoes e.g.).
Salted bacon goes extremely well with these vegetables. Add a piece of good, wholesome bread and a glass of red wine and you have a rustic, tasty meal. You could start with some soup, and/or a good cheese to finish.
Ingredients
- 3 medium carrots, scraped and cut into rough chuncks
- 6 small shallots, halved
- 6 small turnips, peeled and quartered
- 2 parsnips, cleaned and cut into cubes
- 1 fennel bulb, divided into 6 pieces
- 1/2 small celeriac, peeled and cut into cubes
- 12 small potatoes, peeled or scrubbed, blanched for 5 minutes
- 1 garlic bulb, halved
- handful of sage leaves
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and black pepper
Preheat the oven to 220°C and place a large, shallow roasting tray inside. Prepare all the vegetables.
Put the vegetables into a large bowl with the garlic and sage leaves. Season generously with salt and pepper and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss well to coat. Remove the roasting tray from the oven and spread the vegetables, garlic and sage over it in a single layer. Roast for 30 minutes, until the vegetables are golden brown and tender, turning them halfway through.
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Posted in vegetables.
Tagged with potato.
By cucinone
– October 19, 2009
Ingredients:
- 800 gr potatoes, peeled
- 4 tablespoons olive oil (extra virgin, preferably Tuscan, ideally Lucca DOP, if possible Fubbiano)
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and squashed, preferably new season
- chopped needles of 2 large sprigs of rosemary
- corse sea-salt and freshly milled black pepper
Cook the potatoes for 10 minutes in lightly salted water. Drain and let them cool. Cut the potatoes in bite-sized pieces. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Pour the olive oil in an ovenproof dish and put 5 minutes in the oven to heat the olive oil. Put the potatoes, the garlic and the rosemary carefully into the ovendish (hot oil!), and season with lots of sea salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly and put the dish back in the oven for another 30 minutes.
These potatoes go perfectly with roast lamb, kid or a bistecca.
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Posted in vegetables.
Tagged with potato.
By cucinone
– October 18, 2009
