White Minestrone

 

White minestrone tends to take a back seat to its tomato based sibling. It’s a perfect alternative to people seeking recipes without tomato though. I use no oil in this dish as I am not trying to brown any of the vegetables and garlic is optional too. I just let the vegetables and flavours speak for themselves. You don’t get the same punchy hit you get from tomato based minestrone, but what does result is an earthy, creamy, nourishing dish, that is calm on the palate.

 

YOU NEED

1 large leek, use only the white part, wash and finely slice it

#optional 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

1 cup of button mushrooms roughly chopped

1.5 litres of vegetable stock

1 cup of penne pasta

1 small turnip, peeled and cut into a small dice

1 large brown potato, cut into a dice. Make this dice a bit larger than the turnip though because the potato will cook faster than the turnip.

2 cups of green cabbage, finely sliced

2 cups of cauliflower, cut into small florets

1 cup of zucchini, cut into a small dice

1 can of butter beans, washed thoroughly and drained

1 can of chick peas, washed thoroughly and drained

 

YOU DO

Put the leek and the garlic into a large pot with a little water and sauté till the leeks soften. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook until they too have softened.

Add the stock and bring to the boil.

Add the pasta, potato, turnip. cabbage and cauliflower to the pot and simmer on a gentle heat for 10-15 minutes. Just before the pasta is cooked and the vegetables are tender, add the zucchini, butter beans and chickpeas and simmer for another few minutes.

 

Serves: 4 to 6

Time: 30-45 minutes

Freezing: Wouldn’t recommend.

Notes: You can use the green part if the leek if you wish. I prefer not to for this dish. I keep the green section and utilise it in other recipes.

Gluten free options would be to eliminate the pasta or simply use gluten free pasta.