Minestrone Milanese

I have been making this recipe for about 25 years!  And it’s a perfect hearty minestrone to have in the fall and winter months.

There are a lot of veggies that go into this.  And my advice to everyone is to prep, cut, chop, mash, (you get the point, right?) all before you start to cook.  It becomes so much easier, and truthfully – the work is in the prep.

Ingredients:

  • ½ pound green beans
  • 2 medium zucchini
  • 1 large potato
  • ½ pound cabbage
  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 3 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 can (20 ounces) Italian plum tomatoes, undrained
  • 3 ½ cups beef broth 
  • 1 ½ cups water
  • ½ tsp sale
  • ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary leaves, crushed
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 can (16 ounces) cannellini beans
  • Freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

  1. Cut potatoes into ¾ inch cubes.  Coarsely shred cabbage.
  2. Heat oil and butter in 6 quart stockpot or dutch over over medium heat.  Add onions; cook and stir 6-8 minutes until onions are soft and golden but not brown.  Stir in carrots and potato; cook and stir 5 minutes. Stir in green beans; cook and stir 5 minutes.  Stir in zucchini; cook and stir 3 minutes. Stir in cabbage and garlic; cook and stir 1 minute more.
  3. Drain tomatoes, reserving juice.  Add broth, water and reserved juice to the stockpot. Chop tomatoes coarsely, add to stockpot.
  4. Trim green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces.  Trim zucchini; cut into ½ inch cubes. Peel and add to stockpot.  Stir in salt, rosemary, pepper and bay leaf. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low.  Over and simer 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally.
  5. Rinse and drain cannellini beans; add beans to stockpot.  Uncover and cook over medium-low heat for another 30-40 minutes until soup thickens a little, stirring occasionally.  Remove bay leaf. Serve with cheese. Makes about 8-10 servings.