📂 Legumes
#Spoon Dish
#Vegetarian
#High Fiber
#Comfort Food
Minestrone Soup with Vegetables and White Beans
🍲 The comforting Italian broth full of vitality. A symphony of seasonal vegetables, white beans, and short pasta in a nutritious bowl.
🛒 Ingredients
- 7 oz Cooked white beans
- 5.3 oz Carrots
- 3.5 oz Onion
- 5.3 oz Zucchini
- 1.8 oz Celery
- 1.8 oz Short pasta
- 34 fl oz Broth
- 2.1 oz Spinach
🍲 Minestrone: The Embrace of the Italian Countryside
Minestrone is probably one of the most famous and nutritious soups in Italy. More than a strict recipe, it is a concept: making the most of the abundance of seasonal vegetables and enriching them with legumes and a handful of pasta. It is a very complete meal in a single bowl, ideal for warming the body and providing long-lasting satiety.
🌱 Why it is exceptionally healthy
- Vitamin Cocktail: By including spinach, carrots, celery, and tomatoes, we guarantee a very wide spectrum of antioxidant vitamins.
- Fiber and Gut Flora: White beans provide soluble fiber that lowers cholesterol, while vegetables provide insoluble fiber for motility.
- Slow Energy: The combination of complex carbohydrates from the legume and al dente pasta provides stable and sustained energy.
📝 Step-by-Step Preparation
- The Italian "Soffritto": Finely dice (brunoise) 1 medium onion (3.5 oz / 100g), 2 carrots (5.3 oz / 150g), and 1 celery stalk (1.8 oz / 50g). In a large pot, heat 4 tsp (20ml) of EVOO and sweat these three vegetables over medium heat for 10 minutes. This is the flavor base of any Italian soup.
- Color and Aroma: Add 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon of oregano, and 7 oz (200g) of peeled and cubed ripe plum tomatoes (or crushed natural tomato). Cook for 5 more minutes until the tomato reduces its water.
- The Broth: Pour in 34 fl oz (1 liter) of good quality vegetable broth (or water). Bring to a boil. Add 5.3 oz (150g) of diced zucchini. Let simmer covered for 15 minutes.
- Legumes and Pasta: Incorporate 7 oz (200g) of cooked white beans (well washed and drained if canned) and 1.8 oz (50g) of whole wheat short pasta (like macaroni or thick noodles).
- The Green Touch: Cook for the time indicated on the pasta package (about 8-10 minutes). One minute before finishing, add a good handful (about 2.1 oz / 60g) of fresh baby spinach leaves. They will cook with the residual heat.
- Serving: Serve the minestrone very hot. Traditionally, it is topped in the bowl with 1 tablespoon of grated parmesan cheese and a drizzle of raw olive oil on top.
