Minestrone:
Hey guys! This here is a super simple and effortless minestrone soup you guys can make with basically things from your fridge/freezer. That’s the idea anyway. But even if you have to go out and buy these ingredients to make it, it’ll still taste just as good, so don’t worry! For the most of it, you’re really just dumping everything into a pot and letting it simmer. And if you’ve already got some stock frozen, you can cut the timing of this recipe by half! This all connects back to the importance of limiting your waste when you cook. One dish’s trash is another dish’s treasure. Basically. So give it a try! I served this up with my White Lasagna recipe. Do check that out too!
Also, one thing you’ll notice about this recipe is that the vegetables are charred first before being simmered. This isn’t traditional at all but charring them just releases another layer of flavour (If I had a pound for every time I said that in this recipe) and well…gives you a more flavourful soup basically. I’m tired.
Anyway, here’s the recipe…
Ingredients:
Minestrone:
- GOOD chicken stock 1.5 litre (Flavoured)
- Bacon (Pork/Beef) 100 g
- Dry white wine 175 ml Omit if using ‘Garbage Stock’
- Canned tomatoes 1 x 500g can
- Vegetables As much as you like Chopped up into bite-sized pieces
- Dried chilli As much as you can take
- Parsley As needed
- Thyme As needed
- Salt & Pepper To taste
[It’s that simple!]
If you’d like to make your own ‘garbage stock’ (that’s what I call it anyway but it’s nothing of the sort!), see the side recipe below!
Instructions:
- Chop your vegetables into bite-sized pieces.
- In a dry, super hot and smoking, wide frying pan or wok, toss in your vegetables and stir fry them for about 1-3 minutes (depending on what veggies you choose) or until nice and charred.
- Turn off the heat and drizzle a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil, and season them with salt and pepper. Give them a good mix and set aside.
- Saute the bacon and dried chilli in a heavy-base pot or casserole with just a teaspoon of olive oil until golden brown and crispy.
- Deglaze with white wine and reduce until syrup-y.
- Add in your canned tomatoes and cook the tomatoes out for about 5 – 10 minutes.
- Then add in your stock and bring it to a boil. When it reaches a boil, bring the soup down back to a simmer and reduce by 1/3.
- When the soup has been reduced, add in the charred vegetables and simmer until the vegetables are almost full cooked.
- Then turn off the heat, add in your parsley and thyme and then cover the pot with a lid and leave it for about 15 minutes.
- Serve!
Honest Foods 