Minestrone Livorno Style
In the winter this can be prepared with dried soaked beans and canned tomatoes.
Serves : 4
Ingredients:
450g / 1 lb Unshelled Fresh Broad (Lima) Beans
2 tbsp Chopped Parsley
1 Slice Prosciutto
1 Clove Garlic
Olive
Oil
½ Small Head Savoy Cabbage, shredded
⅔ cup
/ 25g / 1oz Trimmed, Washed, Shredded Spinach
1 Onion, chopped
500g / 1¼ lb Potatoes, peeled, cut into
julienne strips
½ cup / 100g / 4oz Julienne-Cut Carrots
1 Courgette (Zucchini), cut
into julienne strips
1 Bouillon Cube
1½ cups
/ 350g / 12oz Peeled, Seeded, Chopped Ripe
Tomatoes
100g / 4oz Salt Pork, blanched, cut into
strips
Salt
⅔ cup
/ 150g / 5oz Rice
5 tbsp Grated Parmesan
Cheese
Instructions:
- Shell the beans and put them
into cold water.
- Finely chop the
parsley, together with
prosciutto and garlic. Put this in a
frying pan (skillet) with 3 tbsp oil. Cook for a
few minutes, then add cabbage and spinach, stir and
continue to cook over a medium heat.
- Add onion, potatoes, carrot, celery and courgettes (zucchini).
Pour in 5 cups of water, add bouillon cube, tomatoes and salt pork.
- When the water comes to the
boil, add drained beans, cover and
simmer gently for 2 hours.
- Season to taste
with salt, add rice, stir and
cook, uncovered, until rice is done.
- The soup should be thick. Remove
from heat and stir in 2 tbsp parmesan. Serve
remaining parmesan separately.
Notes:
Soup is often a
substantial dish in Italy
and the garnishes are correspondingly hearty.
Choose from pasta
shapes, bread croûtons - fried or baked in the oven,
and sometimes stuffed as well - or dumplings made of potato or semolina and mixed with spinach, chicken, ham or fish and béchamel
sauce
(see recipes for each).
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