To achieve depth of flavor in this Italian classic, start by sautéing the vegetables (or sofrito as it’s known in Italian cooking, which includes garlic, onions, carrots, and celery) in olive oil (or rendered bacon fat, even better!). Next, bundle the herbs like thyme and add them to your soup — pulling them out at the end will infuse further flavor. Using good quality chicken stock (homemade or store-bought) and a good quality extra virgin olive oil are also important building blocks to any soup. Simmer time is important too — that’s when the flavors all come together. Adding the pasta to the Minestrone Soup will thicken it and add flavor from all the starches in the pasta. Another tip, I only buy Goya beans — they are the best in my opinion, so choose your beans wisely and always rinse well.

Sauté the thinly sliced garlic and diced onions in olive oil (or rendered bacon fat) until translucent. Add the chopped or sliced carrots and celery. Sauté for 10 minutes on medium-low heat. Add the tomato paste, salt, and pepper and heat for 5 minutes on low heat. Add 1 container of stock (reserve the second container) and add the beans and mash with a potato masher (or keep the beans whole). Next, add the crushed tomato sauce. Bundle the thyme sprigs and toss them into the soup. Add the bay leaves, about 2-3. Bay leaves provide such an aromatic flavor to soups, stews, and sauces. Red chili flakes will give this soup a little spicy kick.

Note: If tomatoes are in season, you can use chopped tomatoes instead of crushed canned tomatoes.

Let the soup simmer until the liquid cooks down a little and the veggies are tender, then toss the broken pasta right into the soup and cook for 10 minutes. Feel free to use any type of pasta. Take out the bundled thyme sprigs and bay leaves and discard.

Have extra stock on hand to loosen the soup. If it sits on stovetop, it will start to thicken from the starches in the pasta. This soup should be more brothy than pasta fagioli, but both are similar.

Garnish each bowl with chopped parsley. Using fresh herbs to brighten and awaken flavors is the way to go! Add a heavy shaving of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Be sure to serve with one of the breads from our local bakeries.

Note: feel free to experiment with other types of beans: red beans or chick peas.