How to Make Minestrone Soup

Hey everyone, this is Kenji from Serious Eats. I've got a zucchini in my hand and we're making minestrone. It's a classic peasant dish from Italy that's designed to use whatever vegetables you might have on hand plus a few pantry staples to turn them into a rich thick satisfying soup that eats like a meal.

Beans are the backbone of this soup, so we're going to want to start with dried beans which have better flavor than canned. Soak 1/2 pound of cannellini beans in salted water overnight and drain them when you're ready to cook. Then put them in a pot with half an onion, a carrot, a couple stalks of celery, a couple cloves of garlic, a rosemary sprig, and some parsley. Cover it all with water and season it with a pinch of salt and set it to simmer until the beans are fully tender. About 45 minutes should do the trick.

Once the beans are done cooking, fish out the vegetables with a pair of tongs and discard them. Then transfer the beans to a bowl along with their cooking water and wipe out the pot. Add a couple tablespoons of olive oil to the empty Dutch oven and sauté until it's lightly browned. You can also add a few ounces of diced pancetta if you like, as well as some fresh herbs like rosemary or parsley.

Next, add a couple of cloves of minced garlic and cook just until it's fragrant. Then add a pound of peeled seeded and diced roma tomatoes. You can also use canned tomatoes if ripe fresh tomatoes aren't available. Season with some salt and pepper and cook stirring until the moisture from the tomatoes fully evaporates and the mixture starts frying. You should hear a distinct change in tone as it goes from simmering like this to frying like that.

Now, return the beans they're liquid plus enough water to add up to two full quarts to the pot along with three and a half ounces of pasta if you've got a parmesan rind on hand. This is where things get really flexible - there are no real hard and fast rules about what vegetables you should use in a minestrone. I'm using a zucchini, a summer squash, and a big fan full of chopped green beans because that's what I had on hand. You can find a list of potential ingredients along with their cooking method in the article linked in the description.

To finish the soup, simply simmer the vegetables just until they're softened. Then add a few ounces of roughly chopped greens like spinach and cook for as long as you'd like. You can make it brighter and fresher in just a few minutes, or thicker and heartier if you plan on cooking for a few hours. Just leave the pasta out until the last 10 minutes if you're making it separately.

And finally, serve the soup with some fresh herbs sprinkled on top and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. And remember - don't be afraid to get creative and experiment with different ingredients. After all, that's what minestrone is all about!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey everyone this is Kenji from Serious Eats I got a zucchini in my hand and we're making minestrone it's a classic peasant dish from Italy that's designed to use whatever vegetables you might have on hand plus a few pantry staples to turn them into a rich thick satisfying soup that eats like a meal here's how we do it beans are the backbone of this soup so we're going to want to start with dried beans which have better flavor than canned soak 1/2 pound of cannellini beans in salted water overnight drain and put them in a pot with half an onion a carrot a couple stalks of celery a couple cloves of garlic a rosemary sprig and some parsley cover it all with water season it with a pinch of salt and set it to simmer until the beans are fully tender about 45 minutes whoops don't forget the bay leaves once the beans are done cooking fish out the vegetables with a pair of tongs and discard them then transfer the beans to a bowl along with their cooking water and wipe out the pot add a couple tablespoons of olive oil to the empty Dutch oven then add a finely chopped onion carrot and a couple stalks of celery you can also add a few ounces of diced pancetta if you'd like as well as some fresh herbs like rosemary or parsley cook the sofrito stirring it until the vegetables are softened but not browned then add a couple cloves of minced garlic and cook just until it's fragrant next add a pound of peeled seeded and diced roma tomatoes you can also use canned tomatoes if ripe fresh tomatoes aren't available season with some salt and pepper and cook stirring until the moisture from the tomatoes fully evaporates and the mixture starts frying you should hear a distinct change in tone as it goes from simmering like this to frying like this now return the beans they're liquid plus enough water to add up to two full quarts to the pot along with three and a half ounces of pasta if you've got a parmesan rind on hand now would be a good time to break it out there are no real hard and fast rules about what vegetables you should use in a minestrone that I'm using a zucchini a summer squash and a big fan full of chopped green beans here because that's what I had on hand you can find a list of potential ingredients along with their cooking method in the article linked in the description simmer the vegetables just until they're softened then add a few ounces of roughly chopped greens like spinach now cook the soup for as long as you'd like just a few minutes for a brighter fresher soup or up to a couple hours for a thicker partyer soup if you plan on cooking for a few hours just leave the pasta out until the last 10 minutes serve with some fresh herbs sprinkled on top and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil I've got a zucchini in my hand and I'm not afraid to use ithey everyone this is Kenji from Serious Eats I got a zucchini in my hand and we're making minestrone it's a classic peasant dish from Italy that's designed to use whatever vegetables you might have on hand plus a few pantry staples to turn them into a rich thick satisfying soup that eats like a meal here's how we do it beans are the backbone of this soup so we're going to want to start with dried beans which have better flavor than canned soak 1/2 pound of cannellini beans in salted water overnight drain and put them in a pot with half an onion a carrot a couple stalks of celery a couple cloves of garlic a rosemary sprig and some parsley cover it all with water season it with a pinch of salt and set it to simmer until the beans are fully tender about 45 minutes whoops don't forget the bay leaves once the beans are done cooking fish out the vegetables with a pair of tongs and discard them then transfer the beans to a bowl along with their cooking water and wipe out the pot add a couple tablespoons of olive oil to the empty Dutch oven then add a finely chopped onion carrot and a couple stalks of celery you can also add a few ounces of diced pancetta if you'd like as well as some fresh herbs like rosemary or parsley cook the sofrito stirring it until the vegetables are softened but not browned then add a couple cloves of minced garlic and cook just until it's fragrant next add a pound of peeled seeded and diced roma tomatoes you can also use canned tomatoes if ripe fresh tomatoes aren't available season with some salt and pepper and cook stirring until the moisture from the tomatoes fully evaporates and the mixture starts frying you should hear a distinct change in tone as it goes from simmering like this to frying like this now return the beans they're liquid plus enough water to add up to two full quarts to the pot along with three and a half ounces of pasta if you've got a parmesan rind on hand now would be a good time to break it out there are no real hard and fast rules about what vegetables you should use in a minestrone that I'm using a zucchini a summer squash and a big fan full of chopped green beans here because that's what I had on hand you can find a list of potential ingredients along with their cooking method in the article linked in the description simmer the vegetables just until they're softened then add a few ounces of roughly chopped greens like spinach now cook the soup for as long as you'd like just a few minutes for a brighter fresher soup or up to a couple hours for a thicker partyer soup if you plan on cooking for a few hours just leave the pasta out until the last 10 minutes serve with some fresh herbs sprinkled on top and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil I've got a zucchini in my hand and I'm not afraid to use ithey everyone this is Kenji from Serious Eats I got a zucchini in my hand and we're making minestrone it's a classic peasant dish from Italy that's designed to use whatever vegetables you might have on hand plus a few pantry staples to turn them into a rich thick satisfying soup that eats like a meal here's how we do it beans are the backbone of this soup so we're going to want to start with dried beans which have better flavor than canned soak 1/2 pound of cannellini beans in salted water overnight drain and put them in a pot with half an onion a carrot a couple stalks of celery a couple cloves of garlic a rosemary sprig and some parsley cover it all with water season it with a pinch of salt and set it to simmer until the beans are fully tender about 45 minutes whoops don't forget the bay leaves once the beans are done cooking fish out the vegetables with a pair of tongs and discard them then transfer the beans to a bowl along with their cooking water and wipe out the pot add a couple tablespoons of olive oil to the empty Dutch oven then add a finely chopped onion carrot and a couple stalks of celery you can also add a few ounces of diced pancetta if you'd like as well as some fresh herbs like rosemary or parsley cook the sofrito stirring it until the vegetables are softened but not browned then add a couple cloves of minced garlic and cook just until it's fragrant next add a pound of peeled seeded and diced roma tomatoes you can also use canned tomatoes if ripe fresh tomatoes aren't available season with some salt and pepper and cook stirring until the moisture from the tomatoes fully evaporates and the mixture starts frying you should hear a distinct change in tone as it goes from simmering like this to frying like this now return the beans they're liquid plus enough water to add up to two full quarts to the pot along with three and a half ounces of pasta if you've got a parmesan rind on hand now would be a good time to break it out there are no real hard and fast rules about what vegetables you should use in a minestrone that I'm using a zucchini a summer squash and a big fan full of chopped green beans here because that's what I had on hand you can find a list of potential ingredients along with their cooking method in the article linked in the description simmer the vegetables just until they're softened then add a few ounces of roughly chopped greens like spinach now cook the soup for as long as you'd like just a few minutes for a brighter fresher soup or up to a couple hours for a thicker partyer soup if you plan on cooking for a few hours just leave the pasta out until the last 10 minutes serve with some fresh herbs sprinkled on top and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil I've got a zucchini in my hand and I'm not afraid to use it\n"

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