Hearty Minestrone
This Italian soup is endlessly forgiving. Don’t be afraid to make your own changes. Don’t like celery? Leave it out. In a hurry? Use canned beans and tomatoes. No salt pork? Use pork belly or bacon. You have other vegetables? No worries, throw them in! Our classic Italian Seasoning gives traditional flavour – you could also use our Bolognese Seasoning, or for a French spin, Herbs de Provence.
Ingredients
200g (1 cup) dried beans, cooked until tender – or 1 can of 5 bean mix/ haricot beans
150g (1½ cups) macaroni or elbow pasta
250g (approx) pork belly rashers or salt pork
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium brown onion, cut into 8–10 wedges
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2L beef stock
3 carrots (approx 280g), chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
Small wedge green/white cabbage (approx 200g), sliced
3 tomatoes (approx 350g), sliced
1 tbsp Herbie’s Italian Seasoning
150g (1 cup) frozen or fresh sliced beans
150g (1 cup) frozen peas
1 tbsp Italian parsley, roughly chopped
150g grated Parmesan, to serve
Instructions
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Heat olive oil in a large stock pot or wide pan. Roughly dice the pork and sauté in the oil. Add onion and garlic, stir-frying so that they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. When they become golden, add the stock along with the carrots and celery.
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Simmer for 15 minutes, then add the Italian Seasoning with the cabbage, tomatoes and beans. Let it all cook at a gentle simmer for 30 minutes, then add the macaroni and peas and cook until the pasta is tender, about 15 minutes.
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Stir in the parsley just before serving, and serve with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan.
Notes
- Even though this hearty soup contains pasta, in this case it is permissible to serve it with generous slices of sourdough.
- For a vegetarian minestrone, replace the beef stock for vegetable stock and omit the beef/pork. For vegan, simply omit the parmesan from vegetarian version.
Find it online: https://www.herbies.com.au/recipes/hearty-minestrone/
