Milan's authentic minestrone soup
Cabbage and other vegetables soup with pancetta and beans.
Ingredients
- 1,4 oz pancetta or of pork rind 40 gr - 1 thick slice
- a big handful of parsley
- 1/2 white onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 carrot
- 2 medium potatoes
- 3-4 sage leaves
- 1 rosemary sprig
- 1 celery stalk
- 3,5 oz beans (precooked or raw, in which case soak them overnight) 100 gr - 1,5 cups
- 1/4 savoy cabbage
- 2 oz short rice (Originario or Roma, or what you find) 60 gr - 1/3 cup
- 1 medium tomato or 1/2 cup of passata, when they're not in season
- extra-virgin olive oil
- parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
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Peel and cut the carrot and the potatoes in chunks. Slice the celery stalk. Slice the cabbage and set it aside. Cut the tomato in chunks and set it aside as well.
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Coarsely chop or blend the pancetta/pork rind, parsley, and onion.
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Place it all in a medium/large pot. Add the garlic clove, the carrot, the potatoes, the beans (if uncooked), the celery, the rosemary sprig, and the sage leaves. Cover with water by an inch and bring to a boil.
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Lower the heat to the minimum and simmer for two hours, lid on.
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Add the savoy cabbage and cook 10 minutes more.
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Add the rice, beans (if precooked), and tomato, and cook 20 minutes or the cooking time on the rice package directions.
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When done, add salt to taste (you should need very little if you use pancetta).
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Serve the minestrone soup hot, garnished with a teaspoon of olive oil, parsley, and black pepper. You can also add a teaspoon of grated parmesan cheese.
Recipe Notes
You can skip the pancetta and make this a vegetarian minestrone recipe. In this case you'll probably need to add a little more salt.