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Minestrone Vegetable Soup | Print |
A deliciously healthy soup using all fresh vegetables found in abundance along the Adriatic Sea.
Ingredients (Serves 2-4, depending on how many courses your meal has in it)

200 g. (1/2 lb.) swiss chard
100 g. carrots (about 2 large carrots)
200 g. (1/2 lb.) fresh green beans
60 g. celery (about 1 large stalk, including leaves)
100 g. (1/4 lb.) potatoes
200 g. (1/2 lb.) zucchini
100 g. (1/4 lb.) peeled tomatoes (the ones from the can work fine)
60 g. chopped leek or onion (white part of 1 leek, or 1 tiny onion)
1 vegetable boullion cube (optional)
Salt
1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
Water

Note: This is a no-stress soup; the quantities of the vegetables can vary a bit without making much difference. Other vegetables can also be added, e.g., a little cabbage, fresh pea pods, spinach, etc.

Clean the swiss chard well: peel away some of the strings on the stalks (it's like removing an outer film from the white part - start from the bottom and "peel" upward - do your best, but don't worry about getting every string off). Cut the large stalks in half lengthwise and then cut (or tear) each leaf into 4-6 pieces (these don't have to be small pieces). Put the chard into a bowl of cold water and rinse several times to get all the dirt off. Put it in the soup pot.
Peel the carrots and dice or slice. Put in the soup pot.
Wash the green beans, cut the ends off and cut into pieces. Put in the soup pot.
Wash and chop celery. Put in pot.
Peel and dice potatoes. Put in pot.
Wash, cut ends off zucchini, dice. Put in pot.
Blanch and peel 2 tomatoes (or use 3-4 peeled tomates from a can). Put in pot.
Peel outer layer off leek, chop up the white/light greenish part. Toss the top part. (or chop the onion) Put in pot.
Now that all your vegetables are in the pot, fill the pot with water until the level of the water is just below the level of the vegetables. Cover the pot and bring it to the boil. Stir, add the boullion cube (or a teaspoon of salt), cover again, and turn heat to a simmer for about 35 minutes. At the end, add the oil and stir. Check the salt.

If you want to add pasta to your soup in order to make a nice meal out of it, you can add about 50 grams of pasta per person. Small types of pasta are recommended. Add the pasta before the soup is done cooking. Or, boil the pasta separately and add it to each person's bowl of soup. This way, if you have leftover soup, the pasta won't get mushy inside it.

Serve with a drizzling of olive oil and parmesan cheese.

Note: Many Abruzzese home cooks add the rinds of the parmesan or grana padano cheese to the pot of soup as it cooks. If you have leftover cheese rinds they can be conserved for many months in the fridge and used in your next minestrone soup. Rinse them first.
 
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