Homemade minestrone.

From BBC Food - Something for the Weekend recipes - Homemade minestrone. By Simon Rimmer.

Spring minestrone.

Rachel Roddy’s spring minestrone with basil pesto reicpe | A kitchen in Rome | Life and style | The Guardian

Serves 4
1 onion (ideally white)
2 celery stalks, with leaves
1 small fennel bulb
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt
1 potato (around 100g)
100g green beans
A parmesan rind
1 litre water
1 courgette
200g white beans, cooked
150g peas (preferably fresh)

For the pesto
50g basil
30g pine nuts or almonds
100ml olive oil
1–2 garlic cloves
50g parmesan or pecorino, grated

- Peel and finely slice the onion, along with the celery and fennel.
In a large heavy-based pan, warm the olive oil over a medium-low heat, then fry the onion, celery and fennel, along with a pinch of salt, until they start to soften – about 5 minutes.

- Peel and dice the potato, then trim and chop the beans.
Add both to the pan – cook for another few minutes, stirring to make sure nothing catches.

- Add the parmesan rind and water.
Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes.
Dice the courgette, add to the pan, and simmer for another 15 minutes.
Add the white beans and cook for another 10 minutes, adding the peas when you think best.
Taste and add salt as necessary.
Take off the heat and set aside, ideally for at least an hour.

- Meanwhile, make the pesto.
Pulse the basil, pine nuts, olive oil, and garlic together in a blender until you have a paste, then stir in the cheese.

- If the soup has become too cool, re-heat it very gently, then divide between bowls, topping each one with a spoonful of pesto.

Minestrone With Borlotti Beans.

- Recipe of the Week: Minestrone With Cannellini Beans | Theo Randall





Serves 6
2 tbsp olive oil
3 celery sticks, finely chopped
1 red onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 garlic clove, finely sliced
1 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
300g cavolo nero
1 x 400g tin borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
1 small bunch basil leaves
Salt and pepper

- In a hot heavy based saucepan add the olive oil and the chopped celery carrot onion garlic.
Cook on a low heat 20 min until they are soft.
Add the tomatoes and cook for a further 20 min.

- Separate the leaves of the cavolo nero and the stalks.
In a pot of boiling salted water cook the cavolo nero leaves 3 min - until they are tender .
Drain and keep the cooking water.
Chop any large leaves into bite-size pieces.

Finely chop the stalks and bring to a gentle simmer 3 min and check the seasoning.
Drain and keep the cooking water.

- Add the borlotti beans to the tomato mixture and cook further 10 min.
Add three cups of the cavolo nero cooking water.
Bring to a gentle simmer for 5 min.

- Add the cavolo nero and the stalks with basil.
Check the seasoning and serve.

Minestrone Soup.

Fun fact: There's actually no standard recipe for the ever-popular minestrone soup.
It's just a hearty Italian soup full of season vegetables.
Use this as a guideline.
You'll want to include the basics (onion, carrot, celery, canned tomatoes, stock, garlic, and herbs), but beyond that this soup is a blank canvas.
Try adding pasta, greens, corn, different beans, potatoes, or pre-cooked sausage.
Add wine, if desired, and cook until it's almost entirely reduced.

In Italian to denote largeness you add –one/-ona/-oni to the end of the word:
- minestra - a soup, becomes minestrone - big soup.
...It is cooked very slowly over a low heat...a stir every now and then.
The ingredients enter the pot one by one, as each one joins the previous one in the pan it is given an attentive and gentle 5 minute sautè before the next ingredient is added.

My version:
- cut everything - small cubes!
1 onion (I prefer red) onions, chopped
1/2 leek, white part only, washed and finely chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 small *courgette/zucchini, chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 can of 400g white beans (cannellini or navy), drained
1/2 can of 400g Chopped Tomatoes
2 tbs orzo (better separately boil)
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried sage
2 bay leaves
Salt and ground black pepper
herbs, chilli - optional
1 liter vegetable or chicken stock


Directions

Heat oil in a Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot over medium heat.
Add onion, leek, celery, carrot, zucchini, and garlic, season with salt and pepper.
Stir to coat with oil and cook until tender, about 8 minutes.
Stir in tomatoes, orzo, herbs and stock.
Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, adding cannellini beans in last 10 minutes of cooking.
Taste and season with salt and pepper, as desired.
... if you find the soup is looking too thick before it has finished cooking add a little more water.
Soup will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer.

*courgette/zucchini - Seasonal vegetables of your choice (at the moment, 1 courgette, diced, handful of fresh peas or broad beans, half a head of fennel, diced, 3 large leaves of cavolo nero, shredded)

Adapted from: How to cook perfect minestrone soup | Life and style | The Guardian