 Homemade minestrone | |
| Alternative names | Minestrone di verdure |
|---|---|
| Type | Soup |
| Course | Primo (Italian course) |
| Place of origin | Italy |
| Main ingredients | Onions,carrots,celery,potatoes,cabbage,tomatoes,legumes (beans,chickpeas,fava beans) |
| Ingredients generally used | Pasta,rice |
Minestrone (/ˌmɪnəsˈtroʊni/,Italian:[mineˈstroːne]) orminestrone di verdure is a thicksoup ofItalian origin based onvegetables.[a] It typically includesonions,carrots,celery,potatoes,cabbage,tomatoes, oftenlegumes, such asbeans,chickpeas orfava beans, and sometimespasta orrice.[1] Minestrone traditionally is made withoutmeat, but it has no precise recipe and can be made with many different ingredients.
The wordminestrone, meaning a thickvegetable soup, is attested in English from 1871. It is fromItalianminestrone, theaugmentative form ofminestra, 'soup', or more literally 'that which is served', fromminestrare, 'to serve',[2][3] andcognate withadminister as in 'to administer a remedy'.
Because of its unique origins and the absence of a fixed recipe, minestrone varies widely acrossItaly depending on traditional cooking times, ingredients, and season. Minestrone ranges from a thick and dense texture with very boiled-downvegetables to a more brothy soup with large quantities of diced and lightly cooked vegetables; it may also includemeats.
In modern Italian, there are three words corresponding to the English wordsoup:zuppa, which is used in the sense oftomato soup, orfish soup;minestra, which is used in the sense of a more substantial soup such as a vegetable soup, and also for "dry" soups, namely pasta dishes; andminestrone, which means a very substantial or large soup orstew, although the meaning has now come to be associated with this particular dish.
Some of the earliest origins of minestrone pre-date the expansion of the Latin tribes ofRome into what became theRoman Kingdom (laterRoman Republic andEmpire), when the local diet was "vegetarian by necessity" and consisted mostly of vegetables, such asonions,lentils,cabbage,garlic,fava beans,mushrooms,carrots,asparagus, andturnips.[4]
During this time, the main dish of a meal would have beenpulte, a simple but filling porridge ofspelt flour cooked in salt water, to which whatever vegetables that were available would have been added.[4]
It was not until the 2nd century BC, when Rome had conquered Italy and monopolized the commercial and road networks, that a huge diversity of products flooded the capital and began to change their diet, and by association, the diet of Italy,[4] most notably with the more frequent inclusion of meats, including as a stock for soups.
Spelt flour was also removed from soups, as bread had been introduced into the Roman diet by the Greeks, andpulte became a meal largely for the poor.[5]
The ancient Romans recognized the health benefits of a simple or "frugal" diet (from theLatinfruges, the common name given to cereals, vegetables and legumes) and thick vegetable soups and vegetables remained a staple.[4]
MarcusApicius's ancient cookbookDe Re Coquinaria describedpolus, a Roman soup dating back to 30 AD made offarro,chickpeas, and fava beans, with onions, garlic, lard, and greens thrown in.[6]
As eating habits and ingredients changed in Italy, so did minestrone. Apicius updates thepultes andpulticulae with fancy trimmings such as cooked brains and wine.[5]
The tradition of not losing rural roots continues today, and minestrone is now known in Italy as belonging to the style of cooking calledcucina povera ('cuisine of the poor'), meaning dishes that have rustic, rural roots, as opposed tocucina nobile ('cuisine of the nobles'), or the cooking style of the aristocracy and nobles.[7]
Minestrone alla genovese is a variant typical ofLiguria which makes greater use of herbs, includingpesto.[8]
Imbakbaka ormbakbaka is a type of stew inLibya made with pasta, chickpeas, bzar spice, and meat. It originated throughItalian colonization.[9]
Media related toMinestrone at Wikimedia Commons
