Making Good Soups, Lesson #5 - The Minestrone with Beef Strips
Minestrone is a thick Italian soup made with vegetables, beef strips, and also pasta. With all base ingredients in the soup, it is also considered a full meal in itself.
Soups are liquid food, generally served warm or cold. They are made by combining a range of ingredients such as stocks, vegetables, meat, etc. and are generally served as a starter or the first course in any meal.
Soups can be traced back as far as 20,000 BC, have evolved according to local ingredients and tastes. Originally, the term used for soups was “broth”, but the name “soup” is actually derived from the old French word “Soupe” which means, “bread soaked in broth”.
In the classical kitchen, soups were considered as a complete dish in themselves, because of their rich nutritional value and were served as breakfast or dinner. However, soups are now served as a starter rather than the main course.
To learn more about the different types of soups, you can go through the introductory lesson - Making Good Soups
Soup Recipe of the Day - The Minestrone with Beef Strips
Minestrone to the Italians means a “Big Soup". This thick soup has a lot of ingredients in it, like pasta, beans, meat, and vegetables, a real delight especially during winter. There is no set recipe for the Minestrone Soup; the absence of any fixed recipe is what makes this soup very unique. The Minestrone varies widely across Italy and all over the world, usually made out of vegetables and meat, could be pure vegetarian as well.
This Dish
Minestrone is a thick Italian soup made with vegetables, beef strips, and also pastas. With all base ingredients in the soup, it is also considered a full meal in itself.
Recipe Card
| Ingredients | Quantity |
| Tenderloin (cut into thin strips) | 200 g |
| Onion | 3 tbsp |
| Leek | 2 tbsp |
| Celery | 2 tbsp |
| Carrot (peeled) | 3 tbsp |
| Cabbage/kale | 2 tbsp |
| Courgette | 2 tbsp |
| French beans/peas | 3 tbsp |
| Potatoes | 3 tbsp |
| Tomato purée | 3 tbsp |
| Tomato concassé | 5 tbsp |
| Garlic (minced) | 2 cloves |
| Olive oil | 3 tbsp |
| Chicken stock | 600 ml |
| Sea salt & pepper | as required |
| Macaroni or any small pasta | 40 gm |
| To Garnish | |
| Parmesan/Grana Padano (shavings) | as required |
| Extra virgin olive oil | as required |
| Cherry tomato (quartered) | 4 pieces |
| Basil/pesto sauce | a sprig |
Method of Preparation
- Cut vegetables into Paysanne. Keep separate from each other.
- In a medium saucepan, on high heat add olive oil and sear the beef strips, then lower the heat and add onions and garlic, leeks, celery, carrot and sweat without colouring.
- In a separate medium saucepan, heat chicken stock.
- Add the tomato purée, mix well and add in the tomato concassé. Season with salt and pepper as required.
- Add the boiling stock to the sautéed vegetables, simmer for about 5 minutes. Then add in the potatoes and pasta and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Finally add the courgettes, French beans & cabbage and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Serve hot topped with parmesan cheese shavings, extra virgin olive oil, cherry tomato and basil/pesto.
Note: to make tomato concasse, immerse tomatoes in hot boiling water for 30 seconds, remove and plunge into cold water to stop the cooking process.Peel tomatoes, cut into quarters, remove the seeds and chop into small pieces.
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