Minestrone
Why I Love This Recipe
Ingredients You'll Need
2 onions, peeled
2 carrots, peeled
1 courgette
1 celery stalk
2 potatoes, peeled
1 tomato
50g/2oz green beans
1 small cauliflower
1 small head of broccoli
1 Swiss chard leaf
2 tbsp olive oil
3-4 garlic cloves, crushed
100g/3½oz peas
3 handfuls of alphabet pasta shapes
handful of spinach leaves
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
parmesan cheese, freshly grated, to serve
Directions
Method
1. Cut the onions, carrots, courgette, celery, potatoes and tomato into 1cm/½in dice.
2. Top and tail the green beans and cut them into 1cm/½in lengths. Cut the cauliflower and broccoli into small florets. Separate the green leaf from the stalk of the Swiss chard and set aside. Cut the stalk into 1cm/½in dice.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large, deep saucepan, add the onions, carrots and garlic, and sweat gently for 2-3 minutes. Then add the courgette, celery, potatoes, green beans and Swiss chard stalk and sweat until the vegetables start to yield a little moisture.
4. Put half the peas in a bowl and crush with the back of a fork. Add to the pan with the whole peas and cook for 3-4 minutes.
5. Cover the vegetables with double the volume of water, bring to the boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
6. Add the pasta, cook for 10 minutes, then add the broccoli and cauliflower and cook for 5 minutes.
7. Roughly chop the spinach and the Swiss chard leaf and add to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes longer, then add the tomato and warm through for a minute or two. Season to taste and serve with grated parmesan.
by Giorgio Locatelli
