Minestrone ~ Tuscan Vegetable Soup
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Minestrone ~ Tuscan Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 250g/8 oz dried cannellini or bortlotti beans soaked overnight and cooked (see below)
- Extravirgin olive oil
- 2 onions
- 2 leeks
- 2 carrots
- 2 sticks celery
- 1/2 savoy cabbage
- Half head of cavolo nero (Tuscan kale)
- 2 potatoes
- Other seasonal vegetables (winter squash etc) – a handful
- 1 litre/2 pints vegetable stock
- Salt, pepper
Instructions
- Soak the beans the night before. Change the water and boil with a sprig of sage and a couple of cloves of garlic for 1.5 hours (or pressure cook for 20 minutes), until tender.
- Wash the carrots and celery, peel the carrot and dice everything.
- Dice the onion.
- Put the diced onion, carrots and celery into a large pot. Soften on a low flame for 5-10 minutes in a good swirl of olive oil.
- Wash and slice the savoy cabbage, add to the pot and wilt.
- Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and dice them.
- Add the potatoes and the cavolo nero to the pot and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring well to avoid sticking. Slice the leeks finely and add. Cook on a low heat for two minutes.
- Add the hot stock. Stir well.
- Season with salt and pepper, bring to the boil and cook on a brisk flame for 20 minutes.
- Lower the flame, add the beans, half whole and half pureed, and cook on a simmer for 30 minutes, You may need to add extra stock or hot water to keep the vegetables always covered.
- Serve with fresh olive oil and black pepper.
- You can also rub toast with a little raw garlic and serve the soup on top.
