Recipe Series No. 1 - Minestrone

I have always loved to cook, but the skills and the honing of the craft to feel comfortable in what you're serving takes a lot of time. My minestrone recipe was the first time I felt like I had achieved the level of confidence in my cooking ability to allow myself to be given the label of a "good cook."

Being a cook for me is not the primary label I identify with, creatively I'm an artist and a writer. But the throughline, and where my passions come together is in the way food intensifies our humanity. My art and my stories are about humanness, and cooking is that act that creates ingredients of togetherness.

Soup feels like that visceral and hearty representation to family and community. It is humble, it is ancient. A large batch of soup can so easily be created, and serving it takes no formality or any other pageantry of hosting.

Minestrone is very old and a staple everywhere, and it hard to say that I developed "my recipe" for it. But over the years I've been making this soup, I have followed what tastes best and what has made the people I serve it to the most thrilled.

The secret I have found in my recipe is a healthy dose of olive oil, unique vegetables from what we typically grab at the stores, and toasting that pancetta to a smokey golden brown.

Before anything else goes in, before the onion softens, before the garlic hits the oil, the pancetta needs time. You're waiting for a deep, golden brown, the kind that makes you wonder if you've gone too far. This renders the fat, and caramelizes the edges, to bring a flavor that carries the whole pot.

The olive oil is the other thing people hold back on, and I'd encourage you not to. A quarter cup feels like a lot. Half a cup feels indulgent. It's a soup. It can take it. What you get in return is a richness that no amount of stock or cream can replicate. Trust me, the best part of this soup is dipping a hearty piece of whole wheat sourdough into the broth and having it soak up the rich olive oil we committed to.

From there, this is genuinely a pantry meal. I have my staples: broccolini for its slightly bitter stems, savoy cabbage for the soft texture it takes on after a long simmer, butter beans and chickpeas because they hold their shape and add heft without disappearing. Cauliflower, sweet potatoes, whatever carrots are left in the drawer. The formula is generous and forgiving. Open your refrigerator and your cupboards, then use what's there. Now is the time to use up anything you feel like you might need to throw away soon.

The soup should be thick, but it is up to you on how much broth to include. I use water instead of a stock, and making sure the soup is well salted is key. I cook the pasta separately and add it to order so it doesn't absorb all the broth and turn to paste by the second day.

To finish: a heavy hand with the parmesan, a swirl of olive oil over the top, cracked pepper. A good sourdough, if you have it, something with a crust that holds up when you drag it through.

This is the meal I make when my family needs a reset, after a long stretch of traveling or takeout or just the accumulated chaos of a busy week. It takes about an hour, asks very little of you, and reliably produces something that tastes like it's been in your family for longer than it has.

I purposefully make a large batch of this to eat throughout the week and freeze for days I don't feel like cooking. It saves incredibly well as leftovers, just remember to make a fresh batch of pasta each time.

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Minestrone Recipe No. 1

Minestrone (Serves 8-10)

The secret to this recipe is using pancetta and a ton of olive oil

Ingredients:

1/4-1/2 cup olive oil

6-12oz pancetta

2 tsp diced garlic

2 yellow onions, diced

1 head of celery, diced

3-5 carrots, diced

2 bunches of broccolini, chopped into large pieces (chop stems and add with the celery/carrots)

1 small head of cauliflower, broken into 1-2 inch florets

1/2 -1 head of savoy cabbage

1-2 medium sweet potatoes, 1/2 inch cubes

1 28oz can diced roasted tomatoes

3-4 cans of white beans (butter beans and chickpeas), drained

1 small head of cabbage, core removed

2-6 cups of water

5-6 bay leaves

1-2 cups small dried pasta (ditalini)

Directions:

1. In a large pot heat up oil and cook pancetta, stirring occasionally (want to get to a golden brown color before putting in the rest of the ingredients) (5-7 minutes)

2. Right before pancetta is browned add garlic and tomato paste, stir frequently (1 minute)

3. Add onion and stir, cook until fragrant and becoming translucent (3-5 minutes)

4. Add celery, carrots (broccoli stems if using), stir and cook until softened (3-5 minutes)

5. Add any veggies and stir to mix in (except potatoes, those will get added in once water is boiling)

6. Add diced tomatoes and stir to mix in

7. Add beans and stir to mix in

8. Depending on how much broth you want in your soup (I like it thick and chunky) add in water.  Bring to a boil

9. Add potatoes and bay leaves, cook for 20 minutes until potatoes are softened

Pasta

1. Bring water with salt to boil

2. Add pasta and cook according to box instructions

3. Strain water when finished

To Finish:

1. Ladle soup into a bowl, add desired amount of pasta

2. Top with several spoonfuls of grated parmesan

3. Swirl some olive oil over top

4. Crack pepper

Notes:

1. Salt as you go, I usually do some big pinches of salt in the beginning with the pancetta.  And then just a pinch or two when adding the vegetables.  Add more salt after water if needed