Minestrone with bacon
Description
The soup is simple and quick to prepare. As you've probably already realized, minestrone is a traditional Italian dish, a thick soup made with a huge variety of vegetables—it literally translates as "big soup." There are many variations for preparing it: some use meat broth and meat itself, while others are vegetarian. But my favorite is this simple minestrone with bacon, made on a base of tomato juice, giving the soup a beautiful red color. Although this recipe for minestrone with bacon requires quite a few different ingredients and takes some time to prepare, believe me, the result is so delicious that once you taste it, you'll forget about everything else. Serve with fresh herbs and sour cream.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
So, let's begin. First, peel, wash, and cut all the vegetables into small cubes, and finely chop the garlic and hot pepper.
- 2
Step 2
In one deep bowl, place celery, hot pepper, and onion.
- 3
Step 3
In another bowl, mix the potatoes, peas, sweet pepper, zucchini, and green beans.
- 4
Step 4
Cut the bacon into small strips.
- 5
Step 5
Now pour olive oil into a saucepan and sauté the bacon in it. Do not overcook the bacon; just render it slightly (1-2 minutes over medium heat).
- 6
Step 6
Place the contents of the first bowl (celery, onion, and hot pepper) into a saucepan. Simmer the vegetables together with the bacon over low heat for 10 minutes.
- 7
Step 7
Make cross-shaped cuts on the tomatoes and pour boiling water over them completely; let them sit for 3 minutes.
- 8
Step 8
Using a slotted spoon, remove the tomatoes and peel off the skin once they have cooled slightly.
- 9
Step 9
Place the tomatoes in the blender bowl and blend until mashed.
- 10
Step 10
Add the tomato purée to the pot with the vegetables and bacon, mix everything and continue simmering (for about 5 minutes).
- 11
Step 11
Next, pour in the tomato juice, bring the liquid to a boil, and simmer for 5 minutes.
- 12
Step 12
Place the remaining vegetables in a saucepan, add minced garlic, and cook for another 5 minutes.
- 13
Step 13
Now add the beans and continue cooking for 5 minutes.
- 14
Step 14
Then dilute the soup with boiling water until the pot is almost full. Season the soup with salt and pepper, and cook for 10 minutes.
- 15
Step 15
Meanwhile, finely chop the basil leaves.
- 16
Step 16
Remove the soup from the heat and pour it into bowls. Serve the minestrone, garnished with Parmesan and basil. Enjoy your meal!