Minestrone


Minestrone
Minestrone is a traditional Italian soup. It is made with a mix of vegetables and a poultry stock. It is quite simple to make, but preparing all the vegetables takes time.
There are doubtless as many minestrone recipes as there are Italian cooks, but here is my version.
181 K 4.3/5 (29 reviews)
Grade this recipe:
Keywords:
Last modified on: May 29th 2011
For 6 people, you will need:

Change to the quantities for:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 2 hours 20 min.
Cooking: 1 hour 15 min.
All in all: 3 hours 30 min.
When should you start or finish this recipe?
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time

Step by step recipe


Stage 1
Minestrone
The day before, put 200 g white beans to soak overnight if you are using dried beans. For fresh ones this isn't necessary.

Stage 2 - 10 min.
Minestrone
Shell 200 g peas, or use frozen ones.

Stage 3 - 10 min.
Minestrone
Peel, wash and chop 4 spring onions (scallions).

Stage 4 - 20 min.
Minestrone
Peel 2 tomatoes and cut into quarters.

Stage 5 - 10 min.
Minestrone
Wash 200 g green beans, cut off the ends and cut into pieces.

Stage 6 - 30 min.
Minestrone
Prepare 2 courgettes in small pieces.

Stage 7 - 40 min.
Minestrone
Peel and wash 2 carrots, 2 turnips and 2 potatoes, cut into small pieces.

Stage 8 - 20 min.
Minestrone
Peel and boil 200 g green asparagus spears in salted water until just tender, but still with some crunch.

Stage 9 - 20 min.
Minestrone
Throw away the water that the beans have soaked in and replace with salted water, Boil until they are cooked but still slightly firm.

Drain.

Stage 10 - 1 min.
Minestrone
Pour 6 tablespoons olive oil into a large pan over medium heat. When hot, add the chopped onions, salt, pepper and cook while stirring for 1 minute.

Add the turnips, carrots and potatoes. Stir to mix well.

Stage 11 - 5 min.
Minestrone
Add the courgettes, haricot beans, green beans and asparagus. Stir to mix well and cook together for 5 minutes, stirring from time to time.

This preliminary cooking of the vegetables in oil is important to add flavour to the minestrone.

Stage 12 - 35 min.
Minestrone
Moisten with 2 litres water and add 2 chicken stock cubes.

Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and leave to simmer gently until all the vegetables are well cooked.

Stage 13 - 10 min.
Minestrone
Then add the tomatoes, check seasoning and leave to cook for a further 10 minutes.

Stage 14
Minestrone
Serve hot on its own, or accompanied by slices of toasted bread spread with pesto, or a little grated Parmesan.
Remarks
Ideally a minestrone should include at least 5 vegetables, but they can be any you choose, so you can vary this recipe in both ingredients and proportions.
You can also add a cupful of rice along with the vegetables. There are those who consider that this should replace the haricot beans, but I think it's good with both.

Minestrone is even better reheated the following day.
Keeping: Several days in the fridge.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
Proteins (gr)Carbohydrates (gr)Fats (gr)Energy value (in k-calories)Energy value (in k-joules)
Whole recipe60 RDI=20 %260 RDI=20 %110 RDI=20 %2,170 RDI=110 %9,080 RDI: 110 %
Per 100 g1 RDI=0 %5 RDI=0 %2 RDI=0 %40 RDI=2 %180 RDI: 2 %
Per person9 RDI=4 %40 RDI=4 %20 RDI=3 %360 RDI=20 %1,510 RDI: 20 %
The % figures are calculated in relation to the Recommended Dietary Intake , or RDI of 2,000 k-calories (or 8,400 k-joules) per day for a woman Change to a man
How much will it cost?
  • For 6 people : 10.80 €
  • Per person : 1.80 €

Change currency:

Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Other recipes you may also like
Moussaka
Moussaka
Here is my personal version of this famous recipe from the eastern Mediterranean. It's a kind of gratin, made with layers of aubergines, cooked meat with tomatos and bechamel sauce with cheese.
August 1st 2011386 K 14 2 hours 55 min.
Flambéd bananas
Flambéd bananas
The trick of this recipe is to end up with bananas caramelised on the outside, still firm on the inside, coated with a tasty syrup which is not 95% butter.
February 21th 2011335 K 14 40 min.
Fresh fruit in sabayon
Fresh fruit in sabayon
Fresh grapefruit and / or pears, covered with a sabayon and a pinch of citrus crunch.
February 21th 2011294 K4.7 55 min.
Sweet pancake rolls from Brittany
Sweet pancake rolls from Brittany
Stewed apples, raisins soaked in whisky, toasted almonds, rolled in a lightly caramelized pancake.
March 10th 2015253 K4.3 2 hours 20 min.
Soft fruits in sabayon
Soft fruits in sabayon
This recipe is made by briefly cooking an assortment of soft fruits (raspberries, blackcurrants, blackberries, blueberries, currants...) with a little sugar to glaze them. They are served in a small dish, covered with a delicious sabayon which can be lightly "burned" on surface.
February 21th 2011272 K3.9 50 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com

Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-08-31)

*Your e-mail Your first name or nickname
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Posted by:
I am not a leaving thing

Follow this recipe
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.

Back to top of page