Minestrone Primavera – Spring Vegetable Soup

INGREDIENTS

Vegetable stock / brodo:

• 2 onions
• 2 carrots
• 2 celery
• 1 leek
• Half a head of fennel
• 200g button or chestnut mushrooms
• Handful of parsley stalks
• 2 vegetable bouillon cubes
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 star anise
• Tsp black peppercorns
• 2L cold water

Minestrone:

• Generous handful of fresh peas
• Generous handful of broad beans
• Half a carrot
• Half a leek (white part)
• Half a head of fennel
• Half a head of celery
• Bunch of cavolo nero
• 2 San Marzano tomatoes
• 6 asparagus spears
• Half a tin of drained borlotti beans
• Half a tin of drained black chickpeas
• Generous handful of minestrone style pasta (Coquillettes or Ditalini work well)
• Small handful of torn mint
• Small handful of torn basil
• Small handful of shredded parsley
• Small handful of picked lemon thyme leaves
• Generous fine shavings of Pecorino, to serve
• Extra Virgin olive oil, to serve

MISE EN PLACE

• Wash / rinse all the vegetables under cold water.
• Peel and roughly chop the veg for the stock.
• Trim the basil and parsley stalks ready to use for stock.
• Roast the onions in olive oil for 30-40 minutes at 180 Fan/200C/Gas 6.
• Pod the peas, then blanch in salted boiling water for 1 minute. Then plunge into iced water.
• Pod the broad beans, then blanch in salted boiling water for 1 minute. Then plunge into iced water.
• Double pod the blanched broad beans by squeezing the skins gently.
• Finely dice half a carrot and leek.
• Finely shred the cavolo nero.
• Finely slice half a fennel bulb into crescent shapes.
• Finely slice half the celery into crescent shapes.
• Snap off the woody ends of the asparagus and roughly chop on the diagonal.
• De-skin, de-seed and dice (concasse) the tomatoes: score an X on the bottom of tomatoes and blanch in boiling water for 10 seconds, then plunge into cold water for a few seconds. Peel back the tomatoes skins from the X, chop into quarters and deseed. (Reserve this seeded part and push through a sieve for a strained tomato juice to serve at the end.) Evenly dice the remaining tomato flesh.
• Cook the pasta in salted boiling water, undercook by 2-3 minutes.
• Rinse the borlotti beans and black chickpeas.
• Shred the parsley, tear the mint and basil and pick the lemon thyme.

METHOD

Vegetable stock / brodo:

• Add all the stock vegetables to a large pot, including the roasted onions.
• Cover with 2L cold water.
• As it comes to the boil add the peppercorns, bay leaves and star anise and skim off any scum on the surface.
• Reduce to a gentle simmer for 1 hour.
• Strain through a muslin or fine sieve for a nice clean stock.
• Reduce the stock further for 20 minutes on a gentle simmer.

Minestrone:

• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan over a moderate heat.
• Sweat the diced carrots, leeks and 3 cloves of bashed garlic until translucent – no colour at all.
• Then add the hot stock and poach the celery and fennel for 5 minutes.
• Drop in the peas, broad beans, cavolo nero, asparagus, pasta and beans for 2 minutes.
• Ladle your soup into a bowl and add a handful of tomatoes and a drizzle of sieved tomato juice.
• Then add the herbs and a generous glug of extra virgin olive oil.
• Serve with plenty of finely grated pecorino, milled pepper and sea salt to taste.

BATTERIE DE CUISINE

• Cooking pot
• Wooden spoon
• Box grater
• Sieve
• Knife
• Chopping board
• Ladle
• Serving vessel
• Bowls
• Pepper mill
• Tea towel