Minestrone is a traditional Italian vegetable soup. It is a really variable meal, you can add basically any type of vegetable to your minestrone.
This time I chose a light but nourishing minestrone soup made with twelve different vegetables.
In Italy minestrone is a so-called “primo piatto”, a starter. They eat minestrone or pasta before
the main dish.
Serve it as a soup, or you can even serve it with a slice of fresh baked white
bread as a one-pot meal on a hot summer day.
Notes for vegetarians and vegans: without using bacon and Parmesan cheese, minestrone makes a
delicious vegan soup!
Minestrone has countless variations. Each vegetable is optional, you can make literally hundreds of different minestrone recipes just by changing what type of veggies you add. A great option is to use seasonal vegetables.
There is no one authentic recipe for minestrone, since it is usually made with whatever veggies are in season. But what we can say as a rule that in Italy minestrone is made with at least 10 different vegetables.
The main ingredient can be tomato, it can also be made with pasta or even with rice. In Liguria, the province of Genoa, minestrone is usually enriched with pesto. You can even jazz up your minestrone with some
grated Parmesan cheese, to get a characteristic taste.
Italians add the rind of Parmesan cheese to a lot of their food. Such is the case with minestrone.
It you have leftover Parmesan rinds, don’t throw them away. They keep in the fridge for months, and simply throw them into you minestrone next time to kick it up a notch!
Try minestrone for yourself, experiment with different ingredients and create your own favorite!