Minestrone soup | Jamie Oliver recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the thickening agent for minestrone? ›

Use Tomato Paste For A Hearty, Thick Minestrone

You can prepare it at home or buy it in a tube and mix it with other food ingredients as needed. If your minestrone is too thin, add a few tablespoons of tomato paste while it's cooking. Start with 1 to 2 tablespoons, stir well, and see how it turns out.

Common ingredients include beans, onions, celery, carrots, stock, and tomatoes. There is no set recipe for minestrone, since it is usually made out of whatever vegetables are in season. It can be vegetarian, contain meat, or contain a meat-based soup base (such as chicken stock).

It is from Italian minestrone, the augmentative form of minestra, "soup", or more literally, "that which is served", from minestrare, "to serve" and cognate with administer as in "to administer a remedy".

Corn Starch

This completely versatile starch is used in savory and sweet dishes alike: gelatinizing fruit pie fillings or thickening your hefty, stick-to-your-bones soups.

Ingredients- 2 Tbs olive oil; 1 onion diced (1 cup); 1 celery diced; 1 carrot, peeled & diced; 1 zucchini, chopped; 2 tsp minced garlic; 14 oz can diced tomato; 32 oz vegetable stock; 1 bay leaf; 1 1/2 Tbs Italian seasoning; 2 Tbs tomato paste; 15 oz canned small white beans, rinsed drained; 15 oz canned kidney beans ...

I add a 6-ounce can of tomato paste (not the double-concentrated kind), which is more than most minestrone soup recipes. I also throw in fresh zucchini, carrots, celery, and spinach, plus lots of canned beans. There's also garlic, onion, diced tomato, and a hefty dose of seasoning.

Minestrone is one of the cornerstones of Italian cuisine, and may even be more widely dispersed and enjoyed throughout Italy than pasta. The soup was initially made from small things leftover from previous meals, combined so as not to waste perfectly good food.

It keeps the gut healthy

Minestrone is rich in fiber, which helps the intestines stay healthy.

Minestrone soup is essentially just a heartier version of vegetable soup. Instead of only having vegetables, herbs and broth, this easy minestrone soup recipe packs extra nutrients from the potatoes, pasta and kidney beans. It's a delicious lunch or dinner that will keep you full and satisfied.

What is the difference between minestrone and fa*gioli? ›

The main difference between pasta e fa*gioli and minestrone is that minestrone has lots of different vegetables in it, pasta e fa*gioli (literally "pasta and beans") has beans -- with onion and/or garlic for flavour, usually rosemary, and sometimes tomato -- but no other veg.

Minestrone soup is often considered a healthy and hearty option, as it is typically low in fat and calories, and high in fiber and nutrients. It can be a good way to incorporate a variety of vegetables into your diet and can be a filling meal on its own or served as a side dish.

In the U.S., gumbo is the top national soup, a thick spicy soup from Louisiana. Clam chowder is another.

Roux (pronounced roo) is a mixture of equal weights (parts) of flour and fat (usually clarified butter; chicken fat, bacon fat, and margarine are also used) cooked over medium heat and stirred constantly. Roux is the most common thickener for sauces and soups.

It's important to note that cornstarch has twice the thickening power of flour. If you need to substitute cornstarch to thicken liquid in a recipe that calls for ¼ cup (four tablespoons) flour, you only need two tablespoons cornstarch.

The most readily available sauce-thickener is flour. For a too-thin sauce, try adding a slurry (equal parts flour and water, whisked together) or beurre manie (equal parts softened butter and flour, kneaded together to form a paste)—both are ideal thickeners for rich and creamy sauces, such as steak sauce recipes.