Martha Stewart's Classic Minestrone Soup
ID: 4103801e...
A hearty, healthy, and classic Italian vegetable soup loaded with Cannellini beans, seasonal vegetables, and leafy greens, finished with a spoonful of fresh basil pesto and grated Parmesan cheese.
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🍳 Cooking Flow
Soak Cannellini beans overnight and simmer them with onion, bay leaf, and prosciutto ends until tender, reserving both the beans and their cooking liquid. → Slow-cook finely diced celery, onion, and carrot in olive oil for 25-30 minutes to create a rich, caramelized sofrito base. → Sauté the remaining soup vegetables (leek, garlic, carrots, celery, potato, zucchini, and green beans) with the sofrito. → Pour in vegetable stock, bean liquid, crushed tomatoes, cabbage, and Cavolo Nero kale, then season with prosciutto, Parmesan rind, bay leaf, and red pepper flakes before simmering covered for 1 hour. → Add the cooked beans back to the soup, simmer for another 20 minutes, and serve with toasted bread, fresh pesto, and grated Parmesan cheese.
Cooking Steps
Brief Cooking Order
Soak Cannellini beans overnight and simmer them with onion, bay leaf, and prosciutto ends until tender, reserving both the beans and their cooking liquid. → Slow-cook finely diced celery, onion, and carrot in olive oil for 25-30 minutes to create a rich, caramelized sofrito base. → Sauté the remaining soup vegetables (leek, garlic, carrots, celery, potato, zucchini, and green beans) with the sofrito. → Pour in vegetable stock, bean liquid, crushed tomatoes, cabbage, and Cavolo Nero kale, then season with prosciutto, Parmesan rind, bay leaf, and red pepper flakes before simmering covered for 1 hour. → Add the cooked beans back to the soup, simmer for another 20 minutes, and serve with toasted bread, fresh pesto, and grated Parmesan cheese.
Introduction
A hearty, healthy, and classic Italian vegetable soup loaded with Cannellini beans, seasonal vegetables, and leafy greens, finished with a spoonful of fresh basil pesto and grated Parmesan cheese.
Step 1
Place 3/4 cup of dried Cannellini beans in a bowl, cover with cold water, and let soak overnight for 8 to 12 hours until they double in size.
Step 2
Drain the soaked beans and transfer them to a deep pot. Add 1/2 onion sliced into chunks, 1 bay leaf, 2-3 small pieces of prosciutto end (optional), and 8 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 to 45 minutes until tender.
Step 3
While the beans are cooking, start the sofrito base in a large Dutch oven. Heat 1/3 cup of olive oil over medium-low heat, then add 1 finely diced celery stalk, 1 finely diced onion, and 1 finely diced carrot.
Step 4
Sauté and stir the sofrito mixture for 25 to 30 minutes over low heat until the vegetables are soft, translucent, and deeply browned.
Step 5
Strain the cooked beans over a large bowl. Reserve the beans and exactly 4 cups of the bean cooking liquid. Discard the onion pieces, bay leaf, and boiled prosciutto pieces.
Ingredients List
Important Notes
Minestrone translates to 'big soup' in Italian because it features a wide variety of fresh vegetables and ingredients.
Soaking the dried beans is a crucial step; they will more than double in size as they reconstitute.
Do not add salt when cooking the dried beans initially, as salt can toughen the bean skins.
A proper sofrito takes time—cook it slowly for 25 to 30 minutes to unlock deep sweet and savory flavors that form the foundation of the soup.
Save your leftover Parmesan cheese rinds in the freezer to add rich umami flavor to homemade soups.
This recipe is easily made vegetarian by omitting the prosciutto ends.
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