Tag: minestrone

Genoese minestrone, when the pesto does not go on a plate of spaghetti – Italian Cuisine

Fresh vegetables, legumes rich in proteins and a scent of basil: impossible to resist the Genoese minestrone

Genoese minestrone it is a dish that comes from the meeting of many fresh vegetables and legumes with the typical Ligurian basil-flavored sauce, in this case prepared without pine nuts. The pesto is in fact used to savoring it on a steaming plate of spaghetti or trofie and instead in this recipe it is added to a soup that brings together the best of seasonal vegetables. The most suitable period to prepare it is in fact the spring, when there are many types of vegetables available.

The history of Genoese minestrone

It may seem strange that a region like Liguria, facing the sea, has many dishes in its traditional cuisine vegetables just like minestrone. This peculiarity can be explained by the fact that for many years the coasts of the region have been plagued by raids by Saracen pirates. This prompted the inhabitants to cultivate the land to obtain that sustenance which was so difficult to obtain because of the sea. The mild climate then facilitated the cultivation of vegetable gardens, from which the inhabitants were able to obtain the many vegetables with which they prepared multiple recipes.

The pasta suitable for Genoese minestrone

You can choose different types of pasta for the Genoese minestrone. Perfect the briquettes, a format similar to broken spaghetti, fingering, or trenette into small pieces. In fact, for this recipe all short pasta or long hand-broken shapes are suitable. Egg pasta, which would not be able to maintain the right consistency in cooking, is not suitable.

Here is the recipe of Genoese minestrone

Ingredients

1 carrot, 1 celery stalk, 2 potatoes, 200 g borlotti beans, 200 g green beans, 2 zucchini, 2 tomatoes, 100 g borage, 1/2 cabbage, 200 g chard, 300 g briquette-like pasta (broken spaghetti), 1 onion, 1 clove of garlic, 100 g pecorino cheese, extra virgin olive oil, salt, 2 tablespoons pesto without pine nuts, a few leaves of fresh basil.

Method

Peel the potatoes and chop them, clean the carrots and slice them, as well as zucchini, tomatoes, cabbage, borage, celery, chard and green beans. Rinse the beans that you have soaked since the night before, peel the onion and slice it, peel the garlic clove. In a saucepan, put the onions, garlic and a drizzle of oil. Brown everything and when the onion is golden brown add all the other vegetables and beans. Put a lot of water covering the vegetables and cook for about 2 hours on a low heat. If necessary, add water. Once the vegetables are cooked and salted, add the pasta. Cook until cooked and then turn off. Add the two spoons of pesto, the pecorino and bring to the table with a few fresh basil leaves. The minestrone is also perfect lukewarm, or served later.

Some more advice

For an even better Genoese minestrone, add a parmesan crust together with the vegetables: during cooking it will release a richer flavor and then eaten in chunks will be delicious. If you like a greater consistency, mash the potatoes with a fork once they are cooked: in this way the minestrone will be denser.

Vegetable Minestrone Recipe – Italian Cuisine – Italian Cuisine

Ingredients

200 g of Grana Padano Dop crusts
150 g clean pumpkin
150 g cauliflower florets
120 g of Roman broccoli florets
120 g of purple cabbage florets
100 g baby carrots
20 g basil leaves
2 pcs carrots
1 pc onion
1 pc celery stalk
1 pc large potato
extra virgin olive oil
salt

Duration: 2 h 15 min

Level: Easy

Dose: 4 people

For the vegetable minestrone recipe, boil 3 liters of water with 2 peeled carrots, the celery stalk with the leaves, the onion cut in half and the parmesan crusts for 1 and 20 minutes. Then drain the cheese crusts and continue cooking the broth for another 40 minutes, seasoning with salt. Finally strain the broth. Grease the cheese crusts with a drizzle of oil and toast them in a non-stick pan, salting them a little, for 2 minutes per side, until they are crispy, then cut them into small pieces.
For the vegetables: Obtained from the pumpkin pulp and the potato pulp from the hemispheres. Boil the vegetables in the boiling broth: start with the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes, then dip the pumpkin and, after 2 minutes, the carrots and all the cabbage; continue for another 5-6 minutes, then drain.
For the dressing: blend the basil with 100 g of oil, a pinch of salt and an ice cube with an immersion blender. Serve the vegetables in the broth with the pieces of cheese crust and the basil sauce.

Because minestrone is good for health – Italian Cuisine

Prepared with many different vegetables, vegetables and legumes, it is a dish that provides the body with super nutrients that slow aging and help it stay in shape

The minestrone has always been one of the symbolic dishes of traditional Italian cuisine and the Mediterranean diet. Prepared with vegetables, vegetables and legumes, it is a super healthy mix. "Often little considered in the daily menus, today it is returning to the table because it allows to fill up with a great variety of vitamins, mineral salts, enzymes, antioxidants and other nutrients that allow you to stay young and healthy, strong and full of energy" , explains the nutritionist Valentina Schirò. To get the maximum of its benefits the ideal is to bet on seasonal vegetables of different colors. "The better the variety of vegetables, the better." Red vegetables and vegetables such as radishes and tomatoes, for example, are rich in lycopene, a valuable antioxidant for the health of the cardiovascular system. Orange-colored vegetables like carrots and squash are a veritable mine of carotenoids, including beta-carotene, which is essential for healthy skin and vision. Those of green color like spinach, chicory and chard provide chlorophyll, a substance that has a protective action on the entire immune system. The white vegetables like fennel, cauliflower, cabbage, onion are rich in flavonoids, in particular quercetin, useful for the prevention of inflammatory states. Finally, the purple ones, like aubergines, have a high anthocyanin content, antioxidants that counteract "bad" cholesterol and the onset of cardiovascular diseases, "explains the expert.

Sated and purified

Minestrone is an excellent ally for those on a diet. «Thanks to the high presence of fibers, of which vegetables, vegetables and legumes (beans, lentils, chickpeas, etc.) are particularly rich, slows down gastric emptying and the absorption of sugars in the blood. In addition, it prolongs satiety and curbs sudden hunger attacks explains Valentina Schirò. But the benefits do not end there. Thanks to its detoxifying properties, minestrone stimulates the purification of the liver and the entire body. "It ensures minerals such as magnesium and potassium that help drain and eliminate excess fluids, responsible for water retention and swelling."

Keeps the bowel healthy

The minestrone is rich in fibers that help the intestine to stay healthy. «They promote intestinal regularity and consequently the elimination of toxins and waste substances. The soluble ones present in artichokes, tomatoes, leeks, asparagus, onion and in many other vegetables such as inulin have a prebiotic action. They nourish and maintain intestinal bacterial flora in health ", concludes the expert.