Monday Morning Cooking Club Minestrone

We fell in love with this minestrone many years ago. It is such a simple recipe – but the long cooking time provides a beautiful richness and depth of flavour.

And here’s some great news. We have published a version of it in our latest book along with SO MANY fabulous recipes to see you through the whole year! Check out A Year of Jewish Cooking. The gorgeous photo here by Alan Benson is the one we used in our book.

If it is too thick towards the end of cooking, add some more water. If you would like to add some small pasta shapes (like risoni), do so at the same time as the chickpeas along with an extra cup of water. And don’t forget to season to taste at the end – it’s really the most important step. If you prefer other veggies, you can add or substitute whatever takes your fancy. Think broccoli, pumpkin, potato, corn, squash, cauliflower…

Serve with a generous slice of well-toasted and buttered sourdough on the side and a generous sprinkle of parmesan. 

For a full roundup of our online soups, see Four Fabulous Soups for Winter.

Monday Morning Cooking Club's Minestrone

A wonderful , nourishing and healthy soup that will satisfy every cold-weather craving.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 3 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Servings: 4 people

Course: Sides and Starters

Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small leek , chopped
• 1 stick celery , chopped
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 2 small carrots , peeled and chopped
• 1 large zucchini , chopped
• ¼ bunch Tuscan cabbage , chopped
• ⅛ green cabbage , chopped
• 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 parmesan cheese rind ,optional
• 1 tin chickpeas , drained and rinsed well
• Extra grated parmesan , for serving

Method

 

1. Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Add the leek and celery and cook for 5 minutes until slightly softened.
2. Add the tomato paste, salt and pepper and stir through for a minute or two.
3. Add the carrots, zucchini, cabbage, Tuscan cabbage and stock. Stir well to combine. Add the parmesan rind and bring to the boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down, cover and simmer for 90 minutes (or up to 2 ½ hours for a richer flavour)
4. Add the chickpeas and cook for an extra 20 minutes. Season once again with salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Serve with grated parmesan.