Wild Minestrone

Undoubtedly hearty, minestrone soup is delicious and comforting whether its spring, summer or winter. Our take on a classic minestrone, obviously contains some wild ingredients.

In comparison to a leak and potato soup, or your classic Heinz tomato soup, we consider minestrone to be more of a meal than just a soup. The ingredients are wholesome and filling and making it yourself is rather satisfying, especially when it tastes beautiful.

The great thing about a minestrone is that it’s a one-pot job! Once you’ve hunted and foraged out the ingredients, its super easy. And, even if you don’t want to go wilding outdoors, you can throw almost anything in from your fridge.

What is Minestrone?

Originated in Italy, and quite frankly favoured by the Italians, Minestrone is a thick like soup made with vegetables, beans, stock, tomatoes and pasta. As you aren’t tied down by ingredients, recipes can vary from place to place, depending on the seasonal ingredients and what’s available.

To make a Wild Minestrone, here is what you’ll need:

1. Hogweed Shoots
2. Cow Parsley
3. Wild Garlic salt
4. Cannellini Beans
5. Tinned Tomatoes
6. Small Shell Pasta
7. Vegetable Stock
8. Celery
9. Bay Leaf
10. Oregano
11. Onion
12. Rosemary Infused Sunflower Oil

Like I mentioned before, you can add near enough anything you have in the fridge. That could be peppers, carrots or kale, and if you don’t like some of the ingredients, don’t add them in. It’s all about making it tasty for your liking!

If you’re anything like me and you’re obsessed with pasta, you’ll probably pile a lot of that in.

What’s the method?

1. Cook off the onion and celery until the onion is soft – we cook this in our Rosemary Infused Sunflower Oil
2. Add the wild garlic salt, for a minute then pour in the tinned tomatoes. Stire gracefully with a wooden spoon!
3. Add the stock, gradually
4. Add the cannellini beans, oregano, bay leaf, hogweed shoots and cow parsley. Stir well then bring the soup to a boil. Reduce to a simmer then cook for 20 – 30 minutes.
5. Finally, add the pasta, cook for about 8-10 minutes, stirring offer.
6. Voilà!

Our Top Tips

1. The secret to a good vegetarian minestrone soup is the stock. A good vegetable stock is not as complex as you may think, check out our vegetable stock recipe here!
2. If you’re adding ingredients like kale or spinach, I would recommend adding them in at the end. You don’t want them overly wilted.