I’m a big soup lover and hearty minestrone was an obvious option when looking for a soup that is packed with nutrients.
Gluten-free, Vegetarian, Vegan, Dairy-free, Lactose-Free, Soy-free
Minestrone is a traditional and favourite Italian one-pot dish, that I have adapted and made gluten and also dairy-free.
It’s full of chunky vegetables and aromatic herbs, and is very easy to make.
There is a lot of chopping involved in this recipe, but I can promise you that it’ll worth it.
A bowl of minestrone makes a great lunch or dinner and it freezes well. So I always make a bigger batch and freeze some of it for later.
Minestrone soup can be made all year round using seasonal vegetables and, as it is with soups and stews, it tastes even better the day after, when all the flavours intensify.
Every Italian nonnna (granny in Italian) has her own version that is passed down the generation.
This is my version of hearty minestrone soup. Hope you’ll enjoy it!
Hearty minestrone soup
Ingredients
Soup
- 1 red onion peeled
- 2 celery stalks preferably organic
- 2 medium carrots preferably organic
- 1 yellow bell pepper preferably organic
- 1 courgette
- 120 grams extra fine beans trimmed
- 1 tsp tomato puree
- 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves of garlic
- a couple of cavolo nero leaves or Swiss chard or spinach leaves
- 1 bottle of Passata approx. 690g
- 3 tsp dried thyme
- 3 tsp dried oregano
- 1 ½ tsp dried rosemary
Garnish for 1 portion
- 60 grams flat brown rice noodles
- ½ lemon
- handful basil leaves
- a pinch of Himalayan pink salt
- a pinch of celery seeds
- 1 tsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp ground almonds
Instructions
- Wash all your vegetables thoroughly.
- Chop the carrots, celery, pepper, courgette and onion into similar size pieces.Finely dice the garlic and cut the fine beans in half. Remove the cavolo nero stalks and chop them into a bite-size pieces.
- Pour the olive oil into a large saucepan, heat it up on low heat and after a minute or so add all chopped onions, carrots and celery. Cover with a lid and cook for about 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, making sure that nothing sticks to the pan. We’re essentially preparing soffritto which is a must in lots of Italian dishes as it creates tons of flavour.
- As soon as the vegetables start to soften add garlic, herbs, tomato puree and bell pepper. Stir well and cook on low heat for further 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Pour the passata into the saucepan together with 2 cups of cold water, mix well with all the vegetables, season with salt and pepper, cover with a lid and cook on low heat for about 20-25 minutes while stirring occasionally.Add the courgette and fine beans, stir well, cover and continue cooking for further 10 minutes.Add the chopped cavolo nero to the soup and cook it covered for 2-3 minutes or until it’s soft.
- Meanwhile, in a deep pan, boil the water and cook the noodles according to the cooking instructions on the pack and drain once cooked.For the dairy-free parmesan, crush celery seeds and salt in a mortar until it’s fine, add the nutritional yeast and gently combine it with a pestle. Add the ground almonds and very gently mix them through the mixture with a spoon.
- Add the noodles and a squeeze of lemon to the soup, mix well, generously sprinkle with the vegan parmesan and top with some basil leaves.
