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Meaty with a dash of veggies

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Vegetables Lunch / Dinner One Bowl Meals Soups

Minestrone

Published: 10.15.2022 » Last updated: 10.15.2022

A chunky Italian soup, there is no fixed recipe for minestrone. It can contain meat, it can be vegetarian, and the vegetables vary from region to region, and from season to season.

Minestrone served with pasta and topped with shaved Pecorino and parsley

It is essentially a peasant soup — very rustic and comforting. It is pronounced the way it is spelled; no long “o” and long “i”, and no silent “e”.

I used to simmer minestrone in the slow cooker. But since my older daughter, Sam, changed her diet by giving up mammals, I’ve modified the cooking process so that we omnivores have meat in our minestrone while Sam’s is meatless.

Sauteeing garlic, onion and tomatoes in olive oil

I start by sauteeing garlic in olive oil until fragrant. Then I add onion and tomatoes and continue sauteeing until the tomatoes soften and the onion appears translucent.

Adding bell pepper to sauteed vegetables before pouring in passata

Diced bell peppers are stirred in and passata is poured in. Passata is an Italian uncooked tomato puree that had been strained to remove the skins and seeds. It is available in some groceries but, if you can’t find it, you may use tomato sauce or a can of diced tomatoes.

Pouring in water to vegetables and passata in pot, and adding oregano

Water is added. Oregano and bay leaves go in. Cubes carrots are dumped in and this is where the simmering begins. It is the cooking over low temperature that blends the beautiful flavors together. So, while it’s tempting to shorten the cooking time by keeping the heat on high, don’t.

Adding cabbage and sliced sausages to minestrone

Cabbage is stirred in and the simmering continues until the leaves soften a bit. Now, here’s where I create meaty and meatless versions of minestrone. I take out a portion of the contents of the pot and put it in a smaller pan. That’s for Sam. To the vegetables in the larger pot, I add sliced sausages.

Adding eggplants and zucchini to minestrone

Eggplants go into both the meaty and meatless minestrone, simmered for a few minutes before zucchini is added. The simmering continues until the vegetables are soft but not mushy.

Minestrone

Connie Veneracion
While minestrone is often cooked with a carbohydrate (pasta or rice), we prefer to add on the side the carb just before serving. Shaved Pecorino and chopped parsley make a lovely garnish.
Minestrone served with pasta and topped with shaved Pecorino and parsley
Print Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 45 mins
Total Time 1 hr
Course Soup
Cuisine Italian
Servings 8 people

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 to 4 cloves garlic - lightly pounded
  • ½ cup chopped onion
  • 2 tomatoes - chopped
  • 2 bell peppers - dices
  • 2 cups passata - available in groceries (or substitute good quality tomato sauce)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 to 2 sprigs oregano - stripped
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 2 cups cubed carrots
  • 3 to 4 cups shredded cabbage
  • 3 to 4 garlicky sausages - sliced into rings
  • 2 cups cubes eggplants
  • 2 cups cubed zucchini

Instructions
 

  • Heat the olive oil in a small pan.
  • Saute the garlic just until softened then add the onion, tomatoes and bell pepper, and continue sauteeing for a minute.
  • Pour in the passata and about a cup of water.
  • Taste. Add salt and pepper.
  • Add the carrot, oregano and bay leaves. Stir.
  • Add the cabbage, stir and simmer until the leaves are starting to soften, about 20 minutes.
  • Throw in the sliced sausages, stir and simmer for a minute.
  • Add the eggplants, stir and simmer for five minutes.
  • Stir in the zucchini cubes and continue cooking for another five to ten minutes.
  • Taste the broth. If too bland, add salt or pepper, or both, as needed.
  • Serve your minestrone with pasta, rice or bread.
Print Pin Recipe
Keyword Sausages, Vegetables

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  • #18 Cooking for Lent
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    A few readers have emailed asking me to post recipes for Lent, and I tell them there is NO need for NEW recipes. Instead, they should try digging into the seafood, mushrooms and tofu recipe archives.

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Connie Veneracion, Chiang Mai, 2020

Hi, I’m Connie!

Welcome to Umami Days, a blog that advocates innovative home cooking for pleasurable everyday dining. No trendy diets, no food fads and definitely no ludicrous recipe names like crustless quiche, noodleless pho or chocolate lasagna.

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