Minestrone My Way

With the cold you crave hot dishes, and if they're eaten with a spoon even better! Miriam, author of the winter Guest blog, brings us a minestrone packed with healthy, varied ingredients, achieving flavors that will surprise you.

Minestrone is a very hearty typical Italian soup, which is mainly made with a variety of finely chopped vegetables, according to the season, and to which pasta or rice is usually added. It can also include some legumes and, if we want to give it more flavor, a beef or chicken broth, and some bacon and ham. It is usually served, like so many Italian dishes, with some grated Parmesan cheese so each diner can add as they wish.

Well then, today I bring you a minestrone with all the trimmings and to my taste (that's me), although based on an adaptation of Jamie Oliver's popular minestrone soup. With a not very Italian addition: jamón serrano. But we already know that anything with jamón serrano improves notably, even if it's Italian.

Ingredients

• 4-5 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 slices of jamón serrano (or pancetta)
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 red onion
• 2 carrots
• 1 zucchini
• 1 leek
• ¼ cabbage
• 1 large potato
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 jar of peeled tomatoes in their juice
• 150gr of red beans (weight already cooked)
• 1 liter of chicken or vegetable broth
• A good handful of small pasta
• Salt and pepper to taste
• A few basil leaves for garnish
• Parmesan cheese to sprinkle

Preparation

1. We start by peeling and chopping the vegetables. Finely chop the garlic, onion and carrot. Cut the zucchini and potato into small cubes, and slice the leek into rings. Shred the cabbage into thin strips. Set aside.
2. Cover a large frying pan, a pot or casserole with the oil and heat over medium heat. Add the ham or pancetta cut into small pieces and fry. Remove and set aside for later.
3. In the same oil sauté the garlic, onion and leek until translucent. Add the rest of the vegetables, except the cabbage, the tomato and the beans, and sauté for a few minutes.
4. Once the vegetables are sautéed, add the chopped tomato with all its juice, the chopped cabbage, the broth, the reserved ham and the bay leaf. Simmer over low heat for 20-30 minutes, until the potato and cabbage are tender.
5. Then add the pasta and cook for the time specified on the package. Finally, add the beans, drained of their liquid if they are canned, and give everything a final boil together.
6. Serve the soup in a tureen or pot, well sprinkled with chopped basil and with a bowl of grated Parmesan. Don’t skip the basil because it gives a wonderful touch. Perfect for this season, don't you think?