Minestrone with Parmesan Rind
A full pot of vegetables, beans, and small pasta in a broth deepened by a simmered parmesan rind — a ladle-it-yourself weeknight soup.
- Serves
- 6
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Written
Method
-
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes.
-
Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook, stirring, until the paste darkens slightly, about 1 minute.
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Stir in the crushed tomatoes, stock, parmesan rind, and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for 15 minutes.
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Add the zucchini and green beans and simmer until the vegetables are just tender, about 8 minutes.
-
Stir in the cannellini beans and pasta and cook until the pasta is tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
-
Remove the parmesan rind and bay leaves, then stir in the spinach until it wilts, about 1 minute.
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Season with salt and pepper and ladle into bowls, finishing each with grated parmesan and torn basil.
Notes
The parmesan rind is what separates this from a plain vegetable soup — it melts down over the simmer and leaves the broth rounder and saltier than the vegetables alone would, so don’t skip it even if you have to dig one out of the freezer. The pasta keeps absorbing broth as it sits, so if you’re making this ahead, cook it separately and stir it into each bowl instead of the whole pot.
Any vegetable on hand can go in where the zucchini and green beans are — this is a clean-out-the-crisper soup, not a fixed recipe.