Fun fact: There’s actually no standard recipe for the ever-popular minestrone soup. It’s just a hearty Italian soup chockful 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 precooked sausage.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1onion, diced
- 1carrot, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
- 2celery stalks, chopped
- 2small zucchini, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
- 2cloves garlic
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup dry red wine (optional)
- 2 tablespoons dried oregano, basil, and/or thyme
- 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
- 6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
- 1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
Directions
- Heat oil in a Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot over medium heat.
- Add onion, carrot, celery, zucchini, and garlic, season with salt and pepper. Stir to coat with oil and cook until tender, about 8 minutes.
- Add wine, if desired, and cook until it’s almost entirely reduced.
- Stir in herbs, tomatoes, 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.
- Soup will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer.
