This healthy and hearty, comforting soup is made with homemade vegetable stock, carrots, onions, celery, tomatoes, beans, zucchini and kale. This soup goes particularly well Rouxbe's plant-based pesto and parmesan.
Steps
1
Preparing Your Mise en Place
Ingredients
1 cup cooked cannellini beans
3 large garlic cloves, émincéd
1 1/2 cups medium diced onion
1/2 cup medium diced celery
1/2 cup medium diced carrots
1 - 15 oz can whole tomatoes, drained, deseeded and diced
*If cooking dried beans from scratch, soak 1/2 cup of beans over night and cook them first. If using canned cannellini beans, drain and rinse with cold water and set aside.
Next, prepare the remaining mise en place.
Note: De-seeding the tomatoes is optional, but it is highly recommended because the seeds can often be bitter.
2
Starting the Soup
Ingredients
pinch of sea salt
3 large sprigs fresh thyme
1 large bay leaf
6 to 8 cups vegetable stock
To start the soup, heat a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-heat. Add the carrots, celery and onion along with a pinch of salt. Dry-sweat the mirepoix (you may have to turn the heat down slightly) for about 8 to 10 minutes or until the vegetables soften but do not brown. Add the garlic and cook until it starts to soften and release its aroma (do not let the garlic brown either).
Next, add the chopped tomatoes, fresh thyme and bay leaf, followed by the stock. Bring the soup to a simmer and let cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Note: The amount of stock needed will ultimately depend on how thick or hearty you want the soup to be.
3
Finishing the Soup
Ingredients
1 cup medium diced zucchini
4 cups kale, torn into pieces
1 1/2 cups medium diced Yukon gold potatoes OPTIONAL
1 cup cooked small pasta, (such as tubetti) OPTIONAL
sea salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Once the soup has simmered for about 15 minutes, add the potatoes to the soup (if using). Simmer gently for about 5 minutes then add the zucchini and beans, followed by the drained the cooked pasta (again, if using). Season to taste.
Lastly, add the kale and simmer for another 2 or 3 minutes.
This recipe might be my favourite soup ever. So simple, but it just works perfectly. Healthy, tasty, hearty vegetable soup. Highly recommended. Done it 4-5 times at home and we can't get enough of it.
Bravo Rouxbe!
Hi Kathy: This soup freezes beautifully. It can stay in the freezer for 3-4 months. Always label and date. I like to freeze it in individual servings--makes it easier for re-heating (single serving). It's a great recipe. Cheers, Char
Hello Lo S: Thanks for writing. By the time the stock is made, the vegetables have lost all of their flavor. However, some people enjoy using a pulp/puree for making crackers. Hope this helps. Char
Best minestrone recipe - made it when I took the Professional Cook Certification course in 2021 and I have made it every winter since then. I leave out the beans and pasta and freeze it (I add these when I thaw and reheat the soup so they don't get mushy).
Char N • Rouxbe Staff •Hi Kathy: This soup freezes beautifully. It can stay in the freezer for 3-4 months. Always label and date. I like to freeze it in individual servings--makes it easier for re-heating (single serving). It's a great recipe. Cheers, Char
Sandy S •Hi Michelle, If cut evenly and added before the zucchini and beans, you can add them raw, allowing them to cook in the soup. Enjoy! Cheers, Sandy
Katherine C •This soup is amazing, easy to make and very tasty. We are going to try it cold today.