Vegetable minestrone soup recipe. Vegetable minestrone soup

Minestrone soup is a legend of Italian cuisine. There it is considered a national and already classic dish. And it may well compete for popularity with pizza, risotto or pasta.

So what made this soup with an unusual name so popular?

Minestrone (Italian Minestrone, that is, “big soup”) is a soup with many ingredients. If the Italian language had the expression “porridge from an axe,” then this is how they would talk about this soup.

It is quite easy to prepare, does not require sophisticated ingredients, and most importantly - incredibly tasty and healthy!

A standard set of vegetables usually includes tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, zucchini, but in general minestrone is a field for experimentation.

Tip: according to the rules of classic recipes, all vegetables should be cut approximately the same way - into small pieces. This is necessary so that the vegetables absorb the juices better and do not lose their shape.

Classic minestrone cannot exist without ingredients such as bacon and cheese, and therefore cannot be called dietary. But those who are watching their figure or want to lose weight will not have to deny themselves the pleasure of trying minestrone soup, as there are many lighter variations. Moreover, there are excellent diets where they consume only this soup! They are effective not only for quick weight loss, but also very good for health!

How to make minestrone soup - 15 varieties

This recipe is an idea on the theme of classic minestrone. The peculiarity of traditional minestrone lies in its preparation technology.

What you will need:

• zucchini 300g
• onion 100g
• potatoes 150g
• carrots 70g
• tomatoes 200g
• bell pepper 150g
• fine paste 50g
• 1 clove of garlic
• hard cheese 20g
• olive oil 7 tbsp.
• water 1250 ml
• salt 2 tsp.

Preparation:

Cut carrots and onions into small cubes. Pepper strips. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise, peel and remove the seeds. Blanch the tomatoes. Cut into small slices. Cut the potatoes into cubes. Heat oil in a frying pan (not until hot). Fry onions and carrots for 5 minutes. The onion should become transparent. Cut the garlic into thin slices. Add bell pepper and garlic to them. Fry for another 5 minutes. Add the zucchini to the frying pan. At this stage, you need to add 2 more tablespoons to the vegetables. olive oil. Fry for 15 minutes. Add tomatoes. Cook everything, stirring, for 5 minutes.

Now transfer the vegetables into the pan. Fill with water, always cold (the quantity is indicated in the recipe). Bring to a boil over low heat. Add salt. Place the potatoes into the pan. Cook with potatoes for about 15 minutes. Now the main nuance of this recipe. It is necessary to puree some of the vegetables.

You need to remove some vegetables from the soup with a slotted spoon, but do not puree them, but rather put them aside. Grind everything that remains in the pan with an immersion blender until smooth. Combine vegetables. Bring the soup to a boil again, add small pasta. Cook for 2 minutes. The soup is ready!

You can serve it with cheese, pesto or basil. Whatever your heart desires!

This recipe is not quite classic, one of the variations of minestrone.

We will need:

• 2 small carrots
• 1 sweet green pepper
• 9 small tomatoes
• 100 g parmesan or other grated cheese
• 300 g canned white beans
• 150 g large pasta
• 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• Vegetable broth
• Vegetable oil
• Salt, pepper to taste

Cooking method:

Peel and wash the carrots, grate them on a coarse grater. Cut the pepper into cubes. Blanch the tomatoes. This can be done as follows: make cross-shaped cuts on them, then pour boiling water over them, literally for one minute, and place them in very cold water. After this, the skin can be easily removed. Cut the tomatoes into small cubes. Fry peppers and carrots in vegetable oil for about 5 minutes. Then add tomatoes to them. Simmer for another 5-7 minutes. Meanwhile, grate Parmesan (or any other hard cheese) on a coarse grater.

Bring vegetable broth to a boil. Add stewed vegetables to it. Followed by white beans and pasta. Cook for 10 minutes. Add vinegar and Parmesan. Mix well. You can serve!

Everyone loves Italian cuisine, and world-famous chefs are no exception. A unique opportunity to prepare minestrone soup according to the author's recipe. It will turn out no worse than a dish in a restaurant!

Ingredients (for 8 servings):

• 1 head of cabbage
• 1 zucchini
• 1 red onion
• 1 medium potato
• 1 can of canned beans (400 g)
• 2 carrots
• 2 stalks of celery
• 4 large tomatoes
• 2 pieces of bacon
• 100 g pasta
• ½ bunch of basil
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 liter vegetable broth
• 1 clove of garlic
• Green onions
• Olive oil

Preparation:

All vegetables must be peeled. Cut tomatoes, carrots, celery and zucchini into large pieces. Potatoes in medium cubes. Onion and garlic in small cubes. Also cut the bacon into small cubes. Pour 2 tbsp into the bottom of a large saucepan. olive oil and set to heat. When the oil is hot, add the bacon. Fry for about 2 minutes. When the bacon is golden, add garlic, onion, carrots, celery, and zucchini. After this, simmer everything together for 15 minutes, until the vegetables soften. Add potatoes, beans (drain the liquid first), and tomatoes.

Tip: it is better to soak the potatoes in cold water in advance.

Pour in the broth. Mix everything. Mash the tomatoes with a wooden spoon until smooth. Then cook for about half an hour, covered, after boiling. Willingness to check on potatoes. Now you need to take care of the green onions - remove the stems and chop them. Add it and the pasta to the pan. Boil everything for 10 minutes. Then check the readiness of the pasta; if ready, turn it off. Now add the basil leaves and stir the soup. Season also with salt and pepper. Serve garnished with Parmesan and basil.

Delicious, satisfying, homemade minestrone. What could be better?!

Ingredients:

• Bacon 100 g
• Fennel 1 piece
• Large onion 1 piece
• Celery stalks 4 pcs
• Garlic 3 cloves
• Red bell pepper 1 pc.
• Carrot 1 piece
• Zucchini 1 piece
• Potato
• Tomatoes 5 pcs
• Green peas 100 g
• Tomato juice 1 l
• White beans 100 g
• Basil or other herbs
• Grated Parmesan
• Olive oil

Preparation:

If you use fresh beans, they must first be soaked and then boiled. Finely chop all vegetables, as well as bacon. Cut fennel and celery into cubes. Fry the bacon, add onion and celery. Fry. Add garlic, passed through a press. Leave to simmer. Cut all other vegetables into cubes.

Tip: If you wish, you can then puree half of the vegetables.

Blanch the tomatoes. Grind the carrots in a blender, then the tomatoes. Add all remaining vegetables to the pan. Add tomato juice. Simmer for 5 minutes. Salt and pepper. Add beans. Add boiling water. Cook for 5 minutes. When serving, sprinkle with Parmesan and herbs.

This is a recipe for an easy and healthy green spring Italian soup.

For preparation:

• Onion 1 head
• Garlic 3 cloves
• Celery 4 stalks
• Potatoes 1 piece
• Green asparagus 400 g
• Parmesan 120 g
• Green beans 300 g
• Canned white beans 1 can
• Vegetable broth 1.5 l
• Frozen peas 300 g
• Chopped basil 2 tbsp.
• Chopped parsley 2 tbsp.
• Green basil 2 stems

Preparation:

Drain the can of beans. Remove the rough ends from the asparagus, cut it into pieces 1 cm long. Cut the potatoes into small cubes. Grate the Parmesan. Heat 4 tbsp in a frying pan. olive oil. Slice fresh green beans in a similar manner to asparagus. Add finely chopped onion, garlic, celery, cut crosswise into 0.5 cm thick pieces, and simmer for about 10 minutes until soft. Add potatoes cut into small cubes, 2/3 of asparagus and green beans and grated Parmesan and simmer for about 5 minutes. At the same time as the white beans, add the broth, bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the remaining asparagus and frozen peas to the soup (do not defrost) and cook for about 6-8 minutes. At the end, sprinkle with herbs.

Serving: basil leaves, parmesan. Serve with garlic bread or garlic toast.

Tip: To maintain the rich green color, it is important not to overcook the soup.

Homemade soup recipe from the chef. Designed for one serving, as it is prepared under the knife in a restaurant. But you can always recalculate the number of ingredients for a larger volume, and cook at least a whole pan. It will turn out very tasty!

For 1 serving:

• 200 ml vegetable broth
• 10 g of each type of vegetable, diced: onion, cabbage, zucchini, celery, carrots, pumpkin, potatoes.
• 10 g beans
• 10 g leeks
• 10 g fennel
• 10 g green peas
• 8 g broccoli
• 5 g spinach
• 3 g basil
• olive oil

Preparation:

Add vegetables to the broth in the following order: potatoes, fennel, carrots, pumpkin, zucchini, onions, celery, leeks, beans, cabbage, green peas, broccoli.

Tip: If the zucchini or zucchini you are using is quite mature and the skin on it is stale, it is better to remove it so that the consistency of the soup is more uniform.

Chop the basil and add to the soup. Cook over low heat for no more than 15 minutes. When serving the dish, add a couple of drops of olive oil.

Minestrone with broccoli - a delicious recipe

There are many options for making minestrone soup - you don't have to make the traditional version when there are so many unusual recipes.

This recipe is one of those.

Ingredients:

• Broccoli - 500 gr
• Tomatoes - 500 gr
• Sausages for baking - 250 gr
• Onion - 1 piece medium
• Pasta shells - 1 cup
• Olive oil
• Parmesan cheese
• Pepper
• Vegetable or chicken broth
• Blend of dried Italian herbs

Preparation:

Fry minced sausage with Italian herbs and onions in olive oil. Bring a liter of broth and a liter of water to a boil together. Add salt. Boil the pasta until half cooked. Divide the broccoli into florets and cut the stems into small cubes. Place in a saucepan along with the fried minced meat. Blanch the tomatoes, remove the seeds, cut into small pieces. Add to soup. Cook everything over low heat until the broccoli softens. Grate the cheese. Add when serving. Bon appetit!

Its peculiarity is that one of the components is lentils, and celery is also added.

Ingredients:

• Sweet pepper 200 g
• Broccoli 200 g
• Celery 200 g
• Lentils 150
• Carrots 200
• Onion 200 g
• Fresh tomatoes or in their own juice - 400 g
• Olive oil 40 g
• Bouillon cubes 4 pcs.
• Hard cheese 50 g
• Water 2 l

Preparation:

The recipe is prepared in a slow cooker, but can also be prepared in a saucepan.

Cut all vegetables except broccoli into small cubes. Set the multicooker to “frying”. Pour in vegetable oil. Send onions, carrots, celery, peppers, tomatoes (if using fresh ones) there. Mix. Fry for about 15 minutes (until the end of the “frying” program). Add tomatoes in their own juice (if using fresh, see above), lentils and broccoli, disassembled into florets. We send them bouillon cubes. To fill with water. Next, cook on the “Soup” program. Preparation will take about 40 minutes. Add salt to taste. Can be served.

At the beginning of the article, we mentioned that there are special diets, the main component of which is this soup.

Here is one example of a diet version.

For 2-2.5 liters of water:

• Onion 3 pcs
• 3 green onions,
• Half a small head of cabbage (preferably savoy),
• celery root with herbs
• bell pepper 2 pcs
• celery root 1 pc.
• 2-3 tbsp. l. tomato puree or tomatoes

Preparation:

Finely chop the peeled vegetables and place them in boiling broth (lightly salted and low-fat, you can use cubes). Boil covered for 10 minutes, add tomato puree. The soup should boil for another 5 minutes. All is ready!

Advice Only fresh minestrone gives the effect, so you need to cook it daily.

You can fast with pleasure when you know the recipe for lean minestrone.

We will need:

• (for 3 servings)
• 1 zucchini
• 1 tomato
• 1 eggplant
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 potato
• 1 onion
• 1 carrot
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• Greenery
• Dry basil

Process:

Peel potatoes and carrots. Cut all vegetables into small cubes. Blanch the tomato. Fry onions, garlic, peppers, carrots, zucchini, and eggplant in vegetable oil. Peel the tomato, cut it and send it to the vegetables. Add tomato paste. At the same time, boil water in a saucepan, add potatoes, cook for 10 minutes. Transfer the contents of the frying pan into the pan and cook for another 17 minutes. Add finely chopped herbs and dry basil, then remove from heat. Bon appetit!

You don't have to give up potatoes if you're on a diet. This recipe is proof of that.

Ingredients:

• ¼ head of cabbage
• ½ zucchini
• 100 grams of fresh green peas
• carrot
• 3-4 stalks of green onions
• parsley and dill
• 1 tsp salt
• 3-4 pcs. new potatoes
• 1-2 cloves of garlic
• 3 liters of water
• olive oil

Preparation:

Pour a few tablespoons of vegetable oil into the pan, add chopped garlic and onion. Fry over low heat. Now, pour water, add salt, add chopped potatoes and carrots into the soup. Cook for up to 20 minutes.

Add chopped zucchini, cabbage, green peas and leave to cook for another 15 minutes.

Advice: Peas can be replaced with young beans and asparagus. You can take dried herbs and roots. And if the diet is not strict, you can also add vermicelli.

Unusual recipe. Kale adds a unique twist and benefit to minestrone soup.

Ingredients:

• 1 red onion
• A couple of garlic cloves
• 1 small carrot
• 2 medium sweet peppers
• 100-150 g frozen green peas
• 150 g white beans
• Small cauliflower
• 2 medium potatoes
• 1 eggplant
• 1 zucchini
• 1 chili pepper
• 1 small tomato
• 50 g small pasta
• 100 g kale

Preparation:

Finely chop the onion and fry in olive oil in a saucepan. Finely chop the garlic and add to the onion. Cut the carrots into small cubes. Add to the pan. Remove the core from the peppers and cut into small cubes. Also send to vegetables. Fill everything with water (about 3 liters). Add peas, beans, cabbage (disassemble into inflorescences). Cut potatoes, zucchini, eggplant into cubes and add to soup. Cut the tomato into medium pieces, chili pepper into rings. Place in soup. Add salt. Mix. Cook for no more than 5 minutes after boiling. Add pasta. Add kale at the very end. Boil for 1 minute.

This recipe is suitable for those who do not like minestrone due to the lack of meat.

Ingredients:

• Zucchini 1 piece
• Carrots 2 pcs
• Onion 1-2 pcs
• Garlic 2-3 cloves
• Potatoes 2 pcs
• Small pasta 50 g
• For the meatballs:
• Smoked chicken breast 300-400 g
• Cheese 100-150 g
• White bread 2 slices
• Yolk 1-2 pcs

Preparation:

Cut all vegetables into small cubes. Chop the garlic. For the meatballs: Pre-soak the bread in water and squeeze. Finely chop the chicken breast. Grate the cheese coarsely. Connect everything. Mix thoroughly. With wet hands, form meatballs. Pour oil into a saucepan and heat it. Add onion and garlic. Fry until transparent. Add potatoes and carrots. Fry, stirring for 7 minutes. Add zucchini. Cook for another 5 minutes. Pour water into the pan and boil. Salt, pepper, add dried herbs (optional). Cook for 5 minutes. Add meatballs. Cook for about 3 more minutes. Add pasta. The soup should boil for no more than 2 minutes. Turn it off and let it brew.

A dish for true lovers of Italy. You've never tried minestrone like this before!

Ingredients:

• 150 g pumpkin
• 1 small carrot
• 150 g celery root
• 1 stalk of celery
• 1 leek
• Olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 pack of mini mozzarella

Preparation:

Cut the pumpkin into small cubes; carrots, celery, its stalk and leek - small. Pour into a saucepan, add a couple of tablespoons of oil. Mix with oil. Fry. Finely chop the garlic, chop the tomatoes. Transfer to a saucepan. Simmer slightly, add 1.5 liters of broth. Salt and pepper.

Cut the mozzarella in half. Turn off the soup. Place mozzarella on plates and add a spoonful of pesto sauce if desired.

Well, and finally, one more recipe for lovely ladies! But of course it’s also suitable for men!

Minestrone with the addition of corn will help diversify your diet.

Ingredients:

• Sweet red onion
• Pink tomatoes 100 g
• Young zucchini 100 g
• Green peas 50 g
• Sweet corn 50 g
• Soy sauce 3 tbsp.
• Garlic 3 cloves
• Red bell pepper 2 pcs
• Grapeseed oil 4 tsp.
• Water 1 l

Preparation:

Grease the bottom of an enamel pan with grape oil. Peel the zucchini and chop into cubes. Cut the onion into thin half rings. Finely chop the garlic. Remove the seeds from the pepper and divide it into thin slices. Place the vegetables in the preheated oil (which is in the pan). Fry, stirring, until the onion and zucchini are browned. Rinse corn and peas. Place in a saucepan with vegetables. Mix well. Blanch the tomatoes, remove the skin. Cut into 6 pieces. Mix with vegetable oil (preferably olive) until pureed. Add to the pan. Pour water and mix with soy sauce. Cook for another 10 minutes. Serve, sprinkled with herbs. Bon appetit!!!

– traditional light Italian vegetable soup. This dish comes from rural peasant culinary traditions. Italians prepare it exclusively from seasonal vegetables, sometimes with the addition of rice or pasta.

We'll tell you how to make minestrone soup. Minestrone is usually prepared with, less often - with meat or chicken. Sometimes this is a special broth made from pork ham on the bone and/or pancetta (Italian bacon) with the addition of various spices and unsulfated grape wine.

Sometimes, to prepare minestrone, vegetables or (part of the vegetables) are fried in olive oil, but only very lightly, over low heat. The composition may include onions, fennel, carrots, various types of cabbage, celery, zucchini, pumpkin, sweet peppers, eggplants, turnips, legumes, asparagus, etc.

In the modern version, sometimes chopped vegetables are boiled until tender, then half of the finished vegetables are crushed in a blender until pureed and returned back to the soup.

Vegetable minestrone soup recipe

• chicken or pork broth, or water - about 2-2.5 l;
• medium-sized young potatoes – 4-6 pcs. oblong shape;
• leek (or regular onion) – 1 pc.;
• green beans – about 100 g;
• carrots – 1 pc.;
• young green peas - about 100 g;
• sweet pepper – 2 pcs.;
• broccoli or cauliflower – about 100 g;
• rice - 2-3 tbsp. spoons;
• various greens (parsley, basil, cilantro, etc.);
• olive oil;
• hot red pepper and garlic;
• dry spices (peppercorns, cloves, bay leaves), ground black pepper.

Preparation

We wash the potatoes, cut each tuber into 4 parts lengthwise (or in some other way) and put them in a pan. We also add green beans and washed rice. Pour in broth or water and cook for 10-12 minutes with the addition of bay leaves, peppercorns, cloves and bay leaves.

At the same time, in a frying pan in olive oil, lightly fry leeks cut into slices (or regular quarter rings) with carrots cut into strips. Add green peas and simmer for 8 minutes. Transfer the contents of the frying pan into a saucepan along with the sweet pepper cut into strips and the broccoli disassembled into small pieces. Cook everything together for 8 minutes. You can add a little tomato paste or finely chopped tomatoes (2-3 pcs.) 3 minutes before readiness.

Use a ladle or slotted spoon to remove some of the vegetables from the pan (about 1/3) and place them on a plate. Cool slightly, puree using a blender and return to the pan with soup.

Before serving, sprinkle with chopped garlic and herbs. Season with red hot pepper and ground black pepper individually.

Minestrone

Minestrone- classic Italian soup made from fresh seasonal vegetables: potatoes, carrots, onions, celery, zucchini, sweet peppers, zucchini, different types of cabbage (broccoli, cauliflower), tomatoes, asparagus, pumpkin... The more vegetables, the better! In addition, legumes (usually beans) are added to minestrone. The word itself " minestrone" can be translated from Italian as " monster ". And indeed, this is a rich, thick, tasty and unusually beautiful soup, thanks to the colorful vegetables.

MINESTRONE RECIPE

NECESSARY:

½ tsp. dried rosemary
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 cloves garlic
1 fennel
1 stalk of celery (large)
1 PC. onions
400 g white beans (washed, canned or pre-cooked)
100 g cauliflower florets
100 g broccoli
1 bell pepper
100 g pumpkin
2 carrots
200-250 g medium zucchini
100 g tomatoes
Salt, black pepper, dry oregano, garlic oil, pesto sauce, fresh basil to taste

HOW TO COOK:

1. Fry rosemary, thyme and garlic in a saucepan with olive oil.

2. Cut carrots, onions, fennel, celery into medium cubes. Add it to the saucepan and simmer. After 1-2 minutes, remove the garlic. Throw in all the other vegetables, cut into the same medium cube: zucchini, bell pepper, pumpkin, asparagus, tomatoes and disassembled into inflorescences: broccoli and cauliflower.

3. Salt and pepper. Add some dried oregano. Simmer everything together for another 1-2 minutes.

4. Pour boiled water - about 2 liters. The main thing is not to overdo it with water; the soup should be thick and rich.

5. Bring to a boil and leave to simmer for a few minutes until the broth is fully saturated with vegetable aroma. Add white beans. Let it boil. While stirring, you need to make sure that the vegetables do not overcook, so adjust the cooking time.

6. Pour about 1/3 of the soup into a separate saucepan and puree with a blender. Mix both parts of the soup. Then the density Minestrone it will turn out right - a real “monster”.

7. Cover the boiling soup with a lid, remove from heat, and let simmer for 30 minutes.

8. Add a little garlic oil for a spicy kick.

9. Serve hot. Pour into bowls, sprinkle with thinly sliced ​​basil leaves and top with Genoa pesto.

The word minestrone literally translates as “big soup”, “soup” - and indeed, being one of the most popular dishes of Italian cuisine, this vegetable soup stands out among the rest, like a giant among dwarfs. At the same time, it is pointless to talk about some kind of authentic recipe: in different regions, and what’s more, in different villages, minestrone can be prepared differently, only one principle remains unchanged - all the vegetables that go into the soup must be seasonal. The rest of minestrone has many faces - it can be cooked either in water or in meat broth, contain pasta or rice, be light or thick; in Liguria, minestrone will be seasoned with a spoonful of pesto, and in Tuscany, local cannellini beans will be added. There are countless variations of minestrone, so don’t read too much into the list of ingredients, but go straight to the recipe, where I will tell you how to prepare minestrone from the vegetables that you have today.

Vegetable minestrone soup

Complexity
average

Time
30 minutes

Ingredients

800 ml. vegetable broth or water

1 onion

3 cloves garlic

1 carrot

1 kohlrabi or large potatoes

100 g. green beans

60 g vermicelli

1/2 tbsp. boiled chickpeas or beans

2 tomatoes

6-8 cherry tomatoes

a few sprigs of greenery

As practice shows, the most delicious minestrone is obtained when it is cooked in vegetable broth - aromatic, rich, cooked without haste, one to which the vegetables have already given all their taste and aroma, and all that remains is to throw them away and take new ones for the soup. If you don’t want to strain yourself, it’s your choice, you can take regular water: this minestrone will be good, but, of course, not ideal. Once you've decided on this, heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and add finely chopped onion and garlic (if you're cooking with leeks or celery, add them at this stage as well). Fry the vegetables over medium heat for about 5 minutes until they turn pale and begin to release amazing aromas.

After this, turn up the heat and add carrots and kohlrabi, cut into small cubes (at this stage you can add other root vegetables besides potatoes, as well as pumpkin, zucchini or bell peppers). Fry the vegetables, stirring, for another 2-3 minutes, and then pour in the vegetable (or water). When the contents of the pan come to a boil, add green beans (or broccoli florets, or asparagus, or leafy vegetables) and cook for about 5 minutes at a low simmer.

Then add the pasta: I prefer vermicelli because it cooks quickly, allowing for better timing of the soup. Then add chickpeas or beans (they should be boiled in advance or canned) - we just need to warm them up - as well as tomatoes, cut into slices or halves. Once all the vegetables are in the pan, add salt to the minestrone to your taste.

To slightly thicken the minestrone, separately blend half the chickpeas or beans with a couple of tablespoons of broth and add to the soup along with the rest of the legumes. 0

Regardless of whether you love Italian cuisine or are very relaxed about it, once in your life you should definitely try to cook real Italian vegetable soup - Minestrone.

Minestrone is very popular in Italy

Firstly, this is a beautiful dish, with a beautiful name and stunningly beautiful taste. Secondly, a bowl of such soup contains ONLY 210 kcal, despite the fact that its benefits for the body and figure are practically inestimable! And in general, your loved one must finally admit that healthy eating is not about “Beeeeee...”.

Minestrone is a very popular dish in Italy. Those who have been to Europe have probably noticed that the attitude of Europeans towards soups is completely different from that of us - Russians. If Europeans want something liquid and hot, they order regular meat broth. And all the so-called European soups are not soups at all, but rather purees of stewed vegetables. Minestrone is no exception. This is a rich, pureed and slightly liquid stew made from a large number of vegetables.

By the way, there are really a lot of vegetables in the classic version of the soup - at least ten different types. Add to this broth from meat, bacon or poultry, cheese dressing, Pesto sauce and be sure not to forget pasta. What you get is not soup - soup!!! But this is exactly how the name of the soup is translated from Italian. What can I say, original...

If your goal is to get the same taste as in Italy, then relax. The fact is that in each region the “boot” of Minestrone is prepared in its own way. Just like ours - borscht or okroshka. Therefore, feel free to experiment with the composition. The main thing is to adhere to the general rules:

1. Vegetables need to be fried and then simmered over SLOW heat, slowly. Be patient and free up time. It will take you 1.5-2 hours to do everything.
2. Vegetables should be seasonal. Don’t chase “chemical” bell peppers in the middle of winter, but replace them with something more healthy.
3. The soup should contain some legumes - peas, chickpeas, beans. Of course, fresh and green ones are better.
4. Some of the vegetables in the soup should be pureed, some should be hard.
5. We add only hard varieties of pasta or pasta, otherwise all the usefulness is down the drain.
6. Don't skimp on greens - basil, parsley - the more, the better.
7. Minestrone should be thick. The more variety of vegetables you use, the better. Let not 10, but 7 or 8 species should be present.

The recipe for Italian Minestrone soup, which you will read below, does not claim to be the only correct one. However, it will serve as a guide for you in your own research. So let's begin.

To prepare six servings of soup we need:

• 1 small zucchini;
• 1 large or 2 small onions;
• 2 medium potatoes;
• 1 carrot;
• 2-3 tomatoes;
• 2 sweet bell peppers, in different colors if possible;
• 50-60 gr. durum wheat pasta or small pasta;
• 1 clove of garlic;
• 250gr. green beans
• 20g. any hard cheese;
• 100 ml. olive oil;
• 1.2 liters of water;
• herbs (basil, parsley, oregano, etc.) and spices (salt, black, red pepper, chili pepper, pesto sauce) to taste;

Cooking delicious Italian vegetable soup

Cooking Italian Minestrone soup begins with preparing the vegetables: they need to be thoroughly washed in running water and peeled, peeled, and seeds removed. If the zucchini is young, you don’t have to peel it, otherwise it’s better to peel it so that there are no solid particles in the finished soup. Cut the zucchini, potatoes, carrots, and onions into small cubes of the same size. Soak the beans (if they are dry) in water. Cut the sweet bell pepper into thin and small strips.

Take a thick-bottomed saucepan, cauldron, stewpan or deep frying pan and heat 3 tbsp. spoons of olive oil. The oil should not boil! Add carrots and onions to the heated oil. Fry them over low heat for about five minutes, until the onion becomes translucent.

Next, add bell peppers and finely chopped garlic to the onions and carrots, let them fry for another five minutes. Then pour another 4 tablespoons of olive oil into the pan and add the zucchini. Periodically thoroughly stir the soup mixture and simmer the vegetables for fifteen minutes over the same low heat.

The last to go into the pan are the peeled tomatoes and beans. They need to let them fry for just five minutes.

After all the vegetables are fried, pour cold water into the container and put on fire. We wait until the water boils, and then add the potatoes. Now wait 20 minutes until the potatoes are thoroughly cooked and the soup acquires a rich taste. Turn off the fire.

We take some of the cooked vegetables out of the container using a slotted spoon and put them on a plate to cool. Those vegetables that remain in the pan must be thoroughly chopped using a blender.

We return the set aside vegetables to their place, and put our container of soup back on the fire and boil. Throw the pasta into boiling water, boil it until half cooked, add spices, boil for another 1-2 minutes and turn off the heat.

Congratulations - your Italian Minestrone soup is ready! Don't forget to garnish it with cheese and herbs before serving.