This is the type of dish I never make the same way twice, but I hope you give this amazing minestrone recipe a try soon, but only once.
Ingredients
- olive oil: 2 Tbsp
- ounces chopped pancetta: 3 piece
- onion: 1 piece (diced)
- celery: 1 cup (diced)
- garlic: 4 clove (minced)
- chicken broth: 4 cups
- water: 2 cups (plus more as needed)
- plum tomatoes, crushed fine: 1 can (28 ounce can)
- cranberry beans, shelled: 1 cup
- cabbage: 2 cups (to taste, chopped)
- garbanzo beans: 1 can (15 ounce can, drained)
- red pepper flakes: 1 tsp (to taste)
- italian seasoning: 1 tsp
- salt: 2 tsp
- bunch Swiss chard: 1 piece (chopped)
- ditalini pasta: 0.66667 cup
- salt and ground black pepper:
- extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling: 0.25 cup
- finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese: 0.25 cup
- fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley: 0.25 cup (chopped)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add pancetta; cook and stir until it begins to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in onions and celery; cook and stir until onions start to turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in minced garlic and cook for another minute.
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Pour chicken broth, water, and plum tomatoes into the pancetta and onion mixture. Bring to a simmer.
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Stir cranberry beans, cabbage, garbanzo beans, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, and 2 teaspoons salt into broth mixture. Bring to a simmer and cook until cranberry beans are tender, adding more water as needed if the soup becomes too thick, about 45 minutes.
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Stir in Swiss chard and simmer until softened, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
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Stir in pasta and increase heat to medium-high and simmer until pasta is tender, about 15 minutes. Ladle into bowls and top with extra virgin olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and Italian parsley.
