Stella McCartney's winter minestrone recipe
by Stella McCartney |
3 comments |
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Don’t be fooled by the name — the character of this thick, wholesome soup is more North African than Italian. It has a lot in common with the European version though, with the couscous playing a similar role to the vermicelli noodles found in many recipes.
At a glance
- Cuisine African
- Recipe Type Main
- Difficulty Medium
- Preparation time 10 mins
- Cooking time 50 mins
- Serves 4 people
Ingredients
- 200 g (7.1oz) Farro semiperlato (or pearled spelt)
- 4 tbsp Olive oil, plus extra to serve
- 1 Large onion, finely chopped
- 1 Leek, finely chopped
- 1 Stick celery, finely chopped
- 2 Medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 Medium turnip, peeled and finely chopped
- 3 Garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 pinch Crushed dried chilli flakes
- 400 g (14.1oz) Tinned tomatoes
- 1 l (1.8pints) Vegetable stock
- 400 g (14.1oz) Tinned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 Bunch cavolo nero, shredded
- 1 pinch Salt
- 1 pinch Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 handful Freshly grated vegetarian parmesan to serve
Step-by-step
- Rinse the farro in a sieve under cold running water, tip into a bowl, cover with cold water and soak for 20 minutes while you prepare the soup base. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the chopped veggies and cook over a low-medium heat for 10–15 minutes until tender but not coloured. Add the crushed garlic and chilli flakes and cook for a further minute.
- Pour the tomatoes into the pan, add the stock and bring to the boil. Drain the farro and add to the pan. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, cover and cook the soup for 25 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the farro is cooked. Add the cannellini beans and cook for a further 2–3 minutes. You may need to add extra stock if the soup is too thick. Add the cavolo nero and cook for 3–4 minutes until tender.
- Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve in bowls with a drizzle of olive oil, a scattering of grated Parmesan and slices of toasted sourdough bread.
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Comments
by davidinnotts | on 21 January 2012
I agree with glynnchristian. It's clearly Italian rather than North African. Lacinato (black kale, called cavolo nero in Italy) is not a North African crop; they grow what we call Spring Greens in the UK, which is less bitter but otherwise similar. Whole spelt does cook very similarly to wheat couscous and tastes very like our barley, too.
So commonly available British ingredients will make this dish more cheaply and with almost the identical result, as I cook regularly as a light winter stew (ie, thin base, not thickened). Use, in Stella's order:
# pearl barley,
# olive or rapeseed oil (rapeseed is healthier, as it has omega-3),
# onion (leek's expensive and tastes no different in this meal),
# celery, carrot & turnip (swede is the cheapest turnip in winter),
# garlic (I prefer it roughly chopped),
# fresh chilli or powder (flakes are expensive and no better),
# ready-chopped tinned tomatoes (sharper than fresh in the UK),
# stock - I make it using Marigold low-salt vegan stock - and that's enough salt to need no more in the meal,
# any canned beans (dried beans are cheaper, but need a day's preparation),
# any greens - the nearest inexpensive kind to black kale is the outer leaves of savoy cabbage. Wash it thoroughly to get out the grit.
As glynnchristian says, season afterwards, using fresh black pepper, and garnish with fresh shaved parmesan. Leave the extra salt to the eater - there's enough or too much salt in all stocks. Those who're salt-addicted will always add too much more themselves anyway, and ruin the flavour.
And yes, it's Italian, and a minestrone. In North Africa, no home cook could resist adding spices and fruit to such a meal. Stella's got a wonderfully balanced dish; it's just a pity that she had to 'over-egg the pudding' with exotic-sounding ingredients to make it seem different - and cost a lot more. Italian housewives make this in amazing variety already.
by fingerpicker | on 22 January 2012
I am in complete agreement with the other two offerings here. Wife and I have been enjoying this particular recipe for several winter months recently. It is a very wholesome sort of left-over Italian stew from any variety of vegetables and including any kale / cavalo nero de Tuscana, very often seen being called Ribollita. It is a sort of Italian peasant food which often has left-over stale ciabatta or other bread rubbed with a garlic cloves added to the mix before serving. As is the case with so many left over ingredients thrown into a pot, it is just wonderful!
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