Minestrone Soup
I love traditional Italian food culture. Honestly it lights me up. Minestrone soup is such a beautiful soup as there is a few simple steps and basic staple ingredients, but everything else you can totally add your own flare.
It’s designed to use up whatever is left, any veggies, pasta, meat, rice or beans. Of course my version is low carb so I don’t add pasta, rice or beans. I do chuck in any veggies I have on hand, but nothing beets my favourite combo of white cabbage and kale. The cabbage becomes almost like a noodle, and the kale just soaks up flavour so well and stays vibrant and green, without disintegrating into grey much like many leafy greens do.
I also have a little trick where I chop up the stems of the parsley and cook them early on in the recipe with the veggies – a far better use for herb stems than the bin!
This can be made without the pancetta however I strongly recommend it. As this soup isn’t cooked for hours and hours, I think the pancetta adds a delicious savoury and deep flavour. The parmesan is also optional, but really it totally makes the dish. And don’t forget the drizzle of olive oil on top.
Buon appetito!
Minestrone Soup
I love traditional Italian food culture. Honestly it lights me up. Minestrone soup is such a beautiful soup as there is a few simple steps and basic staple ingredients, but everything else you can totally add your own flare.
Serves:
4
Prep time:
20 minutes
Cook time:
40 minutes
INGREDIENTS
- 3 tbsp chopped pancetta OR 2 rashers of bacon
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 carrot, finely chopped
- 2 sticks celery
- ¼ -½ bunch fresh parsley, stems chopped and leaves reserved for serving
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 cups (750ml) chicken stock OR broth
- 2 tins chopped tomato
- 2 bay leaves
- A few sprigs of fresh thyme, rosemary OR oregano*
- 1 peel of lemon rind
- ¼ small white cabbage, finely shredded
- ½ bunch kale, roughly torn
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Parmesan, to serve (optional)
METHOD
- Heat a large pot on the stove, and drizzle in a little olive oil. Add in the chopped pancetta and leave to cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add in the onion, garlic, carrot, celery and chopped parsley stems and cook on a medium heat for 5-7 minutes until veggies are softened but not brown.
- Add in the tomato paste, stir and leave to cook for about 2 minutes.
- Pour in the chicken stock/ broth, chopped tomato and about 1 ¾ cups (400ml) of water (depending on the size of your pot).
- Add in the bay leaves, herbs and lemon rind. Add in a generous pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, then leave to simmer, partially covered for 30 minutes.
- When you are about to serve, plunge in your veggies of choice, my all time faves are cabbage and kale - perhaps not typical for minestrone but it’s so good.
- Serve topped with chopped fresh parsley leaves, a crack of black pepper, a drizzle of olive oil and a few shavings of parmesan if desired.
Notes
- You can use all three herbs for this recipe.
- Vegetarian option: Omit the pancetta and choose a vegetable based broth.
- Dairy free option: Omit cheese or replace with dairy free alternative.
About Liv
I’m a holistic nutritionist (BSc) and healthy chef and I’m obsessed with waking up every day happy to be alive and excited for the day ahead, and eating incredible nourishing food!
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