Classic Minestrone Soup by Anıl Uzun 

Now that I have started to give recipes from Italian cuisine, it is time to offer a traditional minestrone soup recipe. That recipe is unique because it is by Anıl Uzun. 

Minestrone is a very famous Italian vegetable soup. Italian nanas cook it with leftover vegetables and add pasta or rice. The base of the soup is tomato. It is delicious and healthy. You can use any vegetables you have. You can use potato, spinach, kale, zucchini, carrot, and so on. I love cooking the soup because you can use many alternatives for the recipe. Foır the beans you can also add any beans you have, green, cannellini, Mexican, all of them have a great taste to blend in the soup. I use canned beans and diced tomatoes for this recipe; you can cook the beans the night before or use tomato juice. 

Winter is coming, and you will warm up with this excellent Minestrone soup. You can cook in a large pan and freeze the soup. The taste will still be great when you defrost it. 

Ingredients: 

• extra-virgin olive oil – about 4 tablespoons
• 1 onion
• 1 potato
• 2 medium carrots
• 2 medium ribs celery
• A tablespoon of tomato paste
• 2 cups of vegetables ( yellow squash, zucchini, butternut squash, whatever you have)
• 4 cloves of garlic
• dried oregano
• dried thyme
• 1 large can of diced tomatoes
• 4 cups of vegetable broth or two veggie cubes
• 3 cups of water
• A pinch of sea salt
• 2 bay leaves
• Red pepper flakes
• Cayenne pepper
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup of pasta
• 1 can of cannellini beans or any other bean you have
• 2 cups baby spinach or kale or any greens
• 2 teaspoons of lemon juice

How to cook minestrone soup

Method: Peel and chop the onion, carrot, and celery. Mince the garlic. Chop the seasonal vegetables. Find a large soup pot and heat the olive oil in the medium heat, add the onion, stir a little, add cayenne pepper and then add the carrot, celery, and potato. Cook a little and then add the tomato paste. Stir often and then add salt. Cook about 7-8 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Then pour 2 cups of seasonal vegetables, 4 cloves of minced garlic, thyme, and oregano. Cook for 2 more minutes and pour the diced tomatoes. Add the vegetable broth or water with veggie cubes, season with red pepper flakes, black pepper, and put the bay leaves in. raise the heat to boil the soup. Cover the pot partially, and lower the heat for the soup to simmer. Leave the soup simmering for 15 minutes. Then open the lid and add the pasta and beans. Cook for 5 more minutes. Now it’s time to put the greens in. roughly chop the leaves and add in the soup. Let the soup simmer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, check the pasta, it shall be al dente. When the pasta is cooked turn down the heat and take the bay leaves out. Add the lemon juice and olive oil. Check the taste and if necessary add more seasoning to your taste.  

Serve with freshly grated parmesan. 

Buono appetito!