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

  1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot over medium heat.
  2. Add onion, carrot, celery, zucchini, and garlic, season with salt and pepper. Stir to coat with oil and cook until tender, about 8 minutes.
  3. Add wine, if desired, and cook until it’s almost entirely reduced.
  4. 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.
  5. Soup will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer.