Traditional Minestrone
⏳ Time
3 hours
🥕 Ingredients
20
🍽️ Servings
8
Description
In its historical homeland, Tuscany, minestrone is often prepared with a fragrant clear broth made from ham hocks and pancetta — fatty pork belly that is salted and seasoned with spices. In this slightly modified version, a pig's trotter is a desirable but not essential ingredient: the necessary richness and depth are provided by the bacon.
Ingredients
- Beans - 5.3 oz
- Potato - 2 lbs
- Carrot - 1 piece
- Courgette - 2 pieces
- Pumpkin - 7.1 oz
- Onion - 1 head
- Leek - 1 stalk
- Celery stalk - 1 piece
- Garlic - 2 cloves
- Spinach - 1 bunch
- Bacon - 5.3 oz
- Pork Neck - 1 piece
- Rosemary - to taste
- Bay leaf - 2 pieces
- Green peppercorns - 2 pieces
- Clove - 2 pieces
- Parmesan Cheese - to taste
- Salt - to taste
- Ground Black Pepper - to taste
- Parsley - 1 bunch
Step by Step guide
Step 1
Soak the beans in water for six to seven hours (you can do this the night before), then rinse them, transfer to a large pot, cover with fresh water, bring to a boil, and add cloves and black peppercorns.
Step 2
In a well-heated skillet, fry the bacon cut into small cubes. Add the chopped onion, leek, and celery, and sauté until softened. Then, add the crushed garlic and cook the vegetables for another couple of minutes.
Step 3
Add the sautéed bacon and onion to the pot with the beans. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low, so the liquid simmers steadily but not too vigorously. Toss in the bacon rind and the Parmesan rind.
Step 4
Peel the pumpkin and cut it into cubes. Similarly, cut the peeled carrots and potatoes into cubes (the amount of potatoes in the soup should equal the total amount of the other vegetables). Add the vegetables to the pot with the beans.
Step 5
Finally, slice the zucchini (there's no need to peel them as the skin is quite tender). Add them to the pot with the other vegetables and bring the soup back to a boil.
Step 6
Add a bay leaf and two to three sprigs of thyme (or a sprig of rosemary if you want to add a piney aroma) to the soup. Cook for about another hour—the readiness of the soup can be determined by the softness of the vegetables and beans: they should be thoroughly cooked.
Step 7
Chop the spinach and parsley, and add them to the soup a few minutes before it's finished cooking, so the greens retain their color. Cook for another five to seven minutes. Remove the bacon rinds, Parmesan rinds, thyme sprigs, and bay leaf from the pot. Season with salt.
Step 8
Before serving, the finished minestrone can be pureed using a potato ricer or poured directly into bowls, keeping the vegetables whole. Each serving should be topped with a tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese.
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