Minestrone

Name: Minestrone recipe
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 4 cups (1L) basic beef bone stock or stock of your choice; 2 cups (500ml) passata; 1 parmesan rind (optional); 2 tsp dried herbs, such as oregano or thyme; 1/2 tsp caster sugar; 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce; 1 minced clove garlic (optional); 2 cups (350g) cooked pasta of your choice (or use cooked or canned chickpeas if you’re gluten free); 2 cups chopped mixed vegetables: diced potato, chopped carrot, cauliflower florets, broccoli florets, frozen peas, chopped green beans, thinly sliced silverbeet (Swiss chard) or kale; Pesto, to serve; Shaved parmesan, to serve; Good-quality olive oil, to serve

Rate now

Jump to recipe

by Alex Elliott-Howery and Jaimee Edwards

Writers

Aug 15, 2020

“If you’ve got stock and passata on hand, you’ve pretty much got the base of minestrone. This dish is often on our tables in winter, and really should be called use-it-all soup rather than minestrone." This is an edited extract from Use It All by Alex Elliott-Howery and Jaimee Edwards (Murdoch Books, $39.99). Photography by Cath Muscat. Styling by Vanessa Austin. Available September 29. Pre-order now via Booktopia Books.

4 cups (1L) basic beef bone stock or stock of your choice
2 cups (500ml) passata
1 parmesan rind (optional)
2 tsp dried herbs, such as oregano or thyme
1/2 tsp caster sugar
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 minced clove garlic (optional)
2 cups (350g) cooked pasta of your choice (or use cooked or canned chickpeas if you’re gluten free)
2 cups chopped mixed vegetables: diced potato, chopped carrot, cauliflower florets, broccoli florets, frozen peas, chopped green beans, thinly sliced silverbeet (Swiss chard) or kale
Pesto, to serve
Shaved parmesan, to serve
Good-quality olive oil, to serve

Method

1.

Place the stock and passata in a stockpot and throw in a parmesan rind if you have one. Bring to a simmer, then taste and season with salt and dried herbs. If you feel your broth needs a lift, add the sugar, Worcestershire sauce and/or minced garlic.
2.

Cook your pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water. This is a good opportunity to use up any ends of packets of pasta – you’ll need about 2 cups (350g) cooked pasta all up. Bring another saucepan of salted water to the boil and blanch your vegetables until firm but cooked. (Note that some vegetables will cook faster than others so add your hard vegetables, such as carrot and potato, first).
3.

Add the cooked vegetables and pasta to the broth and bring back to simmering point. Divide the minestrone among bowls and serve with a tablespoon of pesto spooned over the top of each bowl, a little shaved parmesan and a drizzle of your best olive oil.