Could it possibly be spring here and all we want is soup these days? Specifically, we want this Spring Minestrone for lunch and dinner! Well, maybe not everyone in the Savoring Italy kitchen wants it all the time, but I sure do!! And it's not really summer here, but the cooler spring days have now turned into rainy and steamy summer-like days.
It is so easy to think of all these different and creative things to make for dinner. But thinking of and actually making a different and creative dinner are two really different things. The reality hits you when it's the end of a long day and you haven't got any thing made yet how far away the creative and fabulous dinner could be.
Then along comes a minestrone. I'm not kidding. A minestrone could come together super easily with simple things you will find in the vegetables you bought for the week. I always start with the carrots, onions and celery that I always have around. And then I like to mix it up with what I have that's fresh and hopefully, seasonal and delicious. If we were in Italy, we would be using what my father-in-law just picked from his garden that morning or evening and that my mother-in-law rinsed off. I wish I had the time and the success to keep a vegetable garden going here. When I was growing up, my dad had cuccuzze (Sicilian zucchini) in our backyard, along with tomatoes. The zucchini were as tall as my brother and I! They were amazing. He was a farmer, so he knew exactly what he was doing, even dealing with our weak Florida dirt that could never compare to the mineral rich soil he had in Sicily. They flourished and they were babied by him every year.
We did try a few times to grow they in our garden, and it seems that even with my adding the right soil, I don't have what it takes to keep it going. I do have success with my herbs and with my orchids, but the vegetables haven't quite worked out yet here. One time my mother-in-law planted zucchini seeds before they left to go back to Italy. They had been visiting us for about a month. I happily called to tell her that the flowers were sprouting and the plant was growing all along my fence. The leaves were huge and I was picking about 6 flowers a day. And that was it! Really, nothing else exciting to report to her on the zucchini growing. She was pleading with me to check every evening and pull off the slugs. Leave cups of beer around the plants for the slugs to die in. She told me what do with the flowers and the small beginnings of zucchini that were growing. They never grew more than the beginnings of zucchini. They died and so did my hope to being a real gardener. It was so disappointing to me, and possibly, more disappointing to her, because we got so close!!
some notes on the recipe:
I used the vegetables that I had on hand and that I love. I made another one the same week and added asparagus instead of the peas. The point is, you can mix up this soup and make it to your taste adding whatever spring vegetables you encounter in your market exploring or what you (lucky you!)have growing in your garden. You could use dandelion or Swiss chard instead of spinach. I usually have baby spinach around (fresh or frozen)and my kids don't mind it at all in a soup, so that's usually my choice green leaf vegetable. I used orzo because I had some on hand and have been wanting to use it up in a soup. This is vegan, because I used vegetable broth.
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
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slightly updated from May 2016
Spring Minestrone
This colorful Spring Minestrone — full of healthy veggies like carrots, leeks and peas— can be made in just 30 minutes.
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
- 3 garlic smashed
- 2 leeks washed and thinly sliced (use an onion if you don’t have leeks)
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 4 carrots peeled and chopped
- 3 celery stalks chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes or more to taste -optional
- 1 potato peeled and cut into small pieces
- 1/2 cup peeled seeded, and chopped tomato
- 4-6 cups stock or water I used vegetable stock, you could use chicken
- 2 small zucchini cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 cup peas I used frozen from fresh that I had in my freezer
- 1 cup baby fresh baby spinach
- 1 cup Italian parsley chopped
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the garlic, leeks, rosemary,carrots, celery, red pepper flakes, and cook 2 minutes. Stir in the potato and tomatoes and cook 2 more minutes; season with salt and pepper.
- Add stock or water and bring to a simmer (start with 4 or 5 cups of stock. Depending on how thick you want your minestrone, add another cup if you want it less thick). Cook, covered, for 10 minutes.
- If you are adding orzo or a broken pieces of a thin spaghetti, bring soup to a boil and add them in now. When the pasta is almost done, add in the zucchini and peas. If you aren’t adding pasta to the soup, keep the soup on a simmer and add in the zucchini and peas and cook for about 10 minutes (or until the zucchini are tender).
- If you did add the pasta, cook until the pasta is al dente (it will keep cooking in the soup because it is very hot, so check to make sure it doesn’t become too mushy).
- Add spinach and parsley during the last 2 minutes of cooking time. Adjust seasonings and serve immediately.
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Shams says
Hi Madly,
Its a must try for vegetarians. Definitely going to try this weekend for my kiddos. I know they would love it. If i don't use red pepper flakes, is it test well?
Lora says
You could leave out the pepper flakes. It will still be delicious!
Demeter says
I love how you can change this up each time depending on what vegetables you have on hand. Loaded with veggies, this is my kind of meal!
Sara Welch says
This is such a beautiful looking soup, and one of my favorite recipes! I'll be making this for my family this weekend!
Shannon Graham says
Boy, we've had some crazy storms that brought in some cooler winds. This soup sure would hit the spot right now.
Aggie says
This is just how I make minestrone, with all the vegetables we have...growing up it would be from my grandfathers garden too. He was a farmer in Sicily too and knew how to work the Florida soil too!
Beth Pierce says
Ohhh, I love this soup recipe! Perfect for a nice spring dinner on the back porch and so much flavor!
Steph says
I love minestrone soup! This looks so hearty and delicious!
Paula says
Ah such a perfect spring soup! Love this so much.
Jeannette (Jay Joy) says
Spring Minestrone sounds really good with Italian savory flavors! It looks so fresh and light.
Melanie Bauer says
Looks beyond delicious! I am going to try this for sure, so tasty and flavorful!
Natalie says
Oh I love minestrone soups. This recipe sounds wonderful. I definitely must make this for me and my family. Look delicious and it's loaded with veggies and so healthy.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Any season needs a good soup and what can be better than a bowl of minestrone. This recipe is perfect to use up all the leftover vegetables. I like the idea of using orzo. I will try that next time when I make Minestrone.
Swathi says
I love this spring minestrone soup, hearty soup I need to give it a try, minestrone soups are my favorite. I like the idea of adding orzo.
Ella Watson says
Hi Lora,
My whole family loves vegan dishes. It's delicious and I couldn't resist making them myself this weekend... I wonder what happens if I skip Italian parsley, will it affects the taste?
Lora says
Hi Ella-you could skip the parsley...not a big flavor changer! Enjoy!
Jason says
Sounds yummy. How much orzo would you recommend for this? Thanks
Lora says
Hi Jason-Thank you! It's about 2 ounces (56 grams) of dry pasta per person. If it's for 2 people, cook up 4 ounces. And increase, if it's for more people. You could store the leftover cooked orzo in a container in the fridge and heat it up with the soup another day. Hope that helps!