Blue Zones: Minestrone Soup
Blue Zones: Minestrone Soup
Staple meal in Sardinia, Italy.
Equipment
- 1 Large pot
Ingredients
- 1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans drained and rinsed. Keep aquafaba liquid
- 1 15 oz. can cannellini beans drained and rinsed
- 1 15 oz. can pinto or red beans drained and rinsed
- 1.5 cups cubed potatoes (washed peeling optional) Yukon gold or sweet potatoes
- 1 medium onion diced
- 6-8 cups water or vegetable broth
- 5 stalks celery diced
- 5 carrots diced
- 8 cloves garlic minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsps olive oil
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 15 oz can tomatoes or 5 Roma tomatoes diced
Add any other vegetables you have on hand: zucchini, cabbage, green beans, cauliflower, broccoli florets
Instructions
- DIRECTIONS: Sauté all vegetables in olive oil over low heat until onions are clear. Add beans and a can of tomatoes, potatoes, oregano, bay leaf and slow cook until beans are tender. I let it cook on extremely low heat all day, adjusting water so it’s thicker than a soup and thinner than a stew. (For quicker soup pressure cook or use an instant pot for 5 minutes and let cooker cool naturally) Finish with avocado when serving. Freeze leftovers in single-serving glass Tupperware.
Notes
The beauty of soups like this is that you can use whatever vegetables you have on hand and season to taste. Dan Buettner notes that this soup is eaten every day by one of Sardinia, Italy’s longest living family, and he eats this almost every day, too.
