Spring Summer Minestrone

The Permaculture Kitchen

Posted by GMC Group

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MINESTRONE
In Italian, minestrone literally means ‘big soup’. It’s The Permaculture Kitchen embodied: a thick, filling soup made from a mix of seasonal ingredients. It’s thickened with rice, pasta or potatoes or farro in its many forms. You can use any small or broken up pasta for this.

The taste of your minestrone will depend on the quality of your stock and the quality and freshness of your vegetables. It can be made as a vegan, vegetarian or omnivore meal.

Here are two recipes: one with more spring/summer ingredients and one with more autumn/winter ingredients. Be flexible with the ingredients according to taste and availability.

Paint colours and textures with your ingredients. This list is not prescriptive. The quantities are enough to make a large saucepan’s worth (about 4-5 litres/quarts), 6-8 portions depending on appetites.

You can finish off the dish with a rustic dollop of some home made pesto or herb oil preserve, or an artistic swirl of spicy olive oil.

Good crusty bread is an essential accompaniment to minestrone in our house.

The three keys to great minestrone flavour

1. Gently sauté a good vegetable base
2. Use a well flavoured stock
3. Use fresh and seasonal vegetables

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You Will Need (28 things)

  • Vegetable base

  • 1 Onion , finely chopped
  • 3 Cloves Garlic , finely chopped
  • 200 g Carrots , finely diced
  • Small bunch Parsley stalks, finely chopped
  • Small handful of the ribs from chard Leaves , chopped
  • 100 g -150g of streaky Bacon , pancetta or similar, diced
  • 200 g Baby Courgette s, finely diced
  • 3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

  • Stock

  • 2 l Fresh Stock : vegetable, chicken or ham (if you don’t have this to hand or time to make it, use the best quality bouillon cubes or powder you can get or use water).

  • Soup contents

  • You’ll need 3 or 4 good handfuls of Vegetables , remembering that any leaves will cook down.
  • Baby Carrots , halved
  • Fresh Peas (or frozen)
  • Broad Beans
  • Artichoke hearts, cut into mouthful sized pieces
  • Small Courgette s, chopped in small dice
  • 50 g -100g of Pasta in pieces
  • Leaves from the chard above
  • Lettuce , shredded
  • Radicchio , shredded
  • Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper , to taste

  • Garnish

  • Courgette flower petals
  • Chopped Parsley leaves
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil or one of pesto, persillade or another of your herb oil preserves
  • Finely grated hard Cheese such as parmesan or pecorino romano or vegetarian equivalents

Steps (6 steps, 60 minutes)

  1. 1

    Pour the olive oil into the pan and heat. Add all the vegetable base ingredients and sauté over a low heat, with the pan covered for 10-15 minutes. You want the ingredients to soften but not colour.

  2. 2

    If you are using battuto, just bring up to temperature over a medium heat. Then add the stock and bring to a simmer.

  3. 3

    Add the non-leaf contents to the pan, stir well and bring back to the simmer. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes until the vegetables and pasta begin to get tender.

  4. 4

    Add the leaves to the pan and stir well. Simmer for another 5 minutes.

  5. 5

    Check the consistency of the minestrone and add more stock or water if it’s too thick. Check the seasoning and add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

  6. 6

    Serve in bowls and decorate with your chosen garnish.

    Accompaniments
    All this needs is some warm bread to accompany it. Some rustic sourdough or ciabatta would fit nicely.