Tuscan minestrone. Mediterranean diet.

Tuscan minestrone recipe

Preparation and cooking

• - Prepare all ingredients.
  Shell beans and put apart.
  Clean wash and dice zucchini. Remove their seeds, if they are a lot.
  Clean, wash and cut celery finely.
  Peel and dice carrots.
  Peel, wash and dice potatoes.
  Peel and slice onion finely.
  Peel tomatoes, remove their seeds and dice their flesh.
  Clean and wash chards and lettuce. Cut both into strips.
  Chop pancetta.
• - Make soffritto.
  Fry pancetta slightly in 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, stirring continuously, a minute.
• - Add all other vegetables, except basil. Let all ingredients flavor, stirring often, a couple of minutes.
  Cover with hot water or broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, season to taste with salt and simmer, stirring now and then, about 90 minutes.
  Add other hot water or broth, only if necessary.
• - Add pasta and cook according to the directions on the package.
  Make sure the cooking liquid is enough before you add pasta not to make your minestrone too thick. Cut in basil leaves just before turning off the stove.

Just before serving

• - Turn off the stove, add remaining olive oil, stir and serve.

Note

Tips

• - You can accompany minestrone with grated Parmesan or Pecorino, in a bowl apart. Everyone will be able to sprinkle it on the top according to his own taste.
• - If you do not add pasta, you can serve this vegetable soup with toasted bread slices.
• - Add a garlic clove, if you like it.

Menu planning

• - Tuscan minestrone is perfect for your summer family menus. If you want to eat healthy, you should prepare it frequently especially if you have children. By the way, it is also very good when cold.
• - Generally, I prepare a lot of minestrone because it tastes fantastic the day after, reheated!

Healthy eating

• - Test my own version, healthier. Avoid frying pancetta in olive oil. Put all your ingredients, except olive and basil in the pot. Cover with cold water, bring to a boil, reduce heat, season to taste with salt and simmer, about 90 minutes or less. Add pasta and cook. Add basil and olive oil once you have turned off the stove. It is better to use olive oil without cooking it, to preserve all its nutritive qualities.
• - If you like vegetarian recipes, do not add pancetta. My husband and I also like this minestrone dish without animal fat. Generally, we eat vegetarian two days a week.
• - Tuscan minestrone is a typical Mediterranean diet recipe. Eat well and stay well ;))
• - Fiber per serving: 6.8 grams (30 grams are suggested per day per head)

Loretta

What's the right wine ?

Generally, my husband and I pair a Tuscan white wine to this minestrone: Bianco di Putigliano