Minestrone Soup. But you can bottle it, and that's exactly what we did. Introducing a Vegetable Minestrone Soup with nothing to hide. Minestrone is a thick, mixed vegetable soup using almost any combination of seasonal vegetables.

A huge success with the family and guests. Add more tomato paste for a thicker, more stewlike minestrone. I also added a can of green beans, used kidney instead of cannellini beans, and used shredded spinach instead of cabbage. You can have Minestrone Soup using 18 ingredients and 32 steps. Here is how you cook it.

Ingredients of Minestrone Soup

It's 1 clove of garlic.
You need 1 of red onion.
Prepare 2 of carrots.
You need 2 stalks of celery.
It's 1 of courgette/zucchini.
It's 1 of small leek.
It's 1 of large potato.
Prepare 1 of x 400g (15 oz) tin or can of cannellini beans.
You need 2 slices of higher-welfare smoked streaky bacon.
It's of olive oil.
It's 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano.
It's 1 of fresh bay leaf.
Prepare 2 of x 400g (14-oz) tins or cans plum tomatoes.
Prepare 1 litre (4 cups) of organic vegetable stock.
Prepare 1 of large handful of seasonal greens, such as savoy cabbage, curly kale, chard.
Prepare 100 g (4 oz) of wholemeal pasta.
You need 1/4-1/2 bunch of fresh basil (optional).
You need of Parmesan cheese.

Essentially, minestrone is a thick, hearty variety of vegetable soup, thanks to the addition of beans and sometimes pasta or rice. Tomatoes, carrots, onion, and celery are usually included, with other vegetables added at the cook's discretion. Minestrone soup is an Italian classic! This version is made with cannellini beans, chicken stock, cabbage, potato, zucchini, carrots, plum tomatoes, and Parmesan cheese.

Minestrone Soup step by step

Peel and finely chop the garlic..
Peel and finely chop the onion..
Trim and roughly chop the carrots..
Trim and roughly chop the celery..
Trim and roughly chop the courgette/zucchini..
Then add the vegetables to a large bowl..
Cut the ends off the leeks, quarter them lengthways..
Wash them under running water....
Then cut into 1cm slices. Add to the bowl..
Scrub and dice the potato..
Drain the cannellini beans, then set aside..
Finely slice the bacon..
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the bacon....
And fry gently for 2 minutes, or until golden..
Add the garlic, onion, carrots, celery, courgette/zucchini, and leek..
Add oregano and bay..
Cook slowly for about 15 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened, stirring occasionally..
Add the potato, cannellini beans and plum tomatoes.....
Then pour in the vegetable stock..
Stir well, breaking up the tomatoes with the back of a spoon..
Cover with a lid and bring everything slowly to the boil, then simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the potato is cooked through. Meanwhile....
Remove and discard any tough stalks bits from the greens....
Then roughly chop..
Using a rolling pin, bash the pasta into pieces while it’s still in the packet or wrap in a clean tea towel..
.
To check the potato is cooked, pierce a chunk of it with a sharp knife – if it pierces easily, it’s done..
Add the greens and pasta to the pan, and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente..
This translates as ‘to the tooth’ and means that it should be soft enough to eat, but still have a bit of a bite and firmness to it..
Try some just before the time is up to make sure you cook it perfectly..
Add a splash more stock or water to loosen, if needed..
Pick over the basil leaves (if using) and stir through..
Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper, then serve with a grating of Parmesan and a slice of wholemeal bread, if you like..

Photography Credit: Elise Bauer Pancetta (optional) - since minestrone is a vegetable soup it's a perfect meal for lent. So pancetta, guanciale or lard cut in cubes is completely optional, but it gives an incredible rich, intense flavor to the veggies as if they were cooked in meat stock (which by the way is also an option). Once the oil is shimmering, add the chopped onion, carrot, celery, tomato paste and a pinch of salt. Everyone loves minestrone soup, and this copycat Olive Garden Minestrone Soup recipe is very simple to make at home - it does not require much work. Just let everything simmer away and dinner is served!