Live to 100 Minestrone

This minestrone is comforting and delicious, full of vegetables and legumes. Sardinia (where I came from) is one of the rare Blue Zones in the world, which means people are more likely to live to 100 years old. This, of course, is because of many factors, but one in particular is the diet. Sardinian diet is full of seasonal vegetables and legumes, and this minestrone is something that you will find very often. Sometimes, to add as well some carbs, we also add fregula, a type of pasta similar to giant cous cous. 

You can use either dry chickpeas and beans for this and soak/cook them in advance, or you can use them straight from the tin!

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 onion
• 2 celery sticks
• 1 large carrot 
• 2 garlic cloves 
• 3 sun-dried tomatoes 
• 15g basil 
• 15g parsley 
• 100g of dried barlotti beans  or 250g tin of barlotti beans 
• 100g of dried chickpeas or 250g tin of chickpeas
• 1 large potato 
• 3 large fresh tomatoes 
• Extra Virgin Olive oil
• 4 large leaves of savoy cabbage 
• 40g of Pecorino cheese

Method

1. Wash the beans and chickpeas in plenty of cold water the evening before. Place them in a large bowl and cover them with plenty of cold water; they will expand as they soak so make sure the container is large enough and there is plenty of water. Cover the bowl and soak them for at least 12 hours (or longer - check the label). The day after, drain the water and rinse the chickpeas and beans thoroughly with fresh water and set aside.
2. Start by washing well and chopping all the ingredients first. Roughly chop the celery, carrot and onion into 1cm cubes, then thinly chop the garlic cloves, sun-dried tomatoes and parsley. Peel and cut the potatoes into 2cm cubes and roughly chop the leaves of the savoy cabbage into large pieces, discarding any tough roots or middle parts. Lastly, chop the tomatoes in half if using small tomatoes or into six if using large tomatoes.
3. Place a large casserole dish or ceramic pot over a medium heat. Add the soffritto (onion, celery and carrots) along with two tablespoons of olive oil and cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the thinly chopped garlic and sundried tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes. Now tear the basil leaves and stir them in along with the chopped parsley and cook for another minute.
4. Add the tomatoes and potatoes, give it a stir and cook for another 2 minutes or until the tomatoes are starting to soften. Add the drained beans and chickpeas and a good pinch of salt and black pepper. Cover with water and bring it to a boil.
5. Reduce the heat back to medium and cover with the lid. Cook between 1 hour to 1.5 hours or until the legumes are fully cooked.
6. Once the legumes are fully cooked, add the cabbage, cover and cook for another 10 minutes. 
7. Taste and adjust for seasoning. 
8. To serve, use a slotted ladle to divide all the vegetables and pulses equally into the serving bowls and then pour the warm broth into each bowl. Season each bowl with pecorino cheese or pangrattato and a drizzle of olive oil. ​

Watch the recipe video

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