A few days ago in the stories I told about my minestrone / vegetable soup: sometimes we take some preparations for granted because they seem trivial instead for someone who has never cooked it they can seem difficult and long, sometimes perceiving an insurmountable commitment that makes pass the desire to approach. In the kitchen there is nothing banal, however. My minestrone is made up of seasonal vegetables, mostly, with the addition of something that I keep from the summer in the freezer to find it ready in winter: if I really don't have the possibility, however, I choose dried legumes to soak or legumes in glass jar, ready to drain and add.
I answer some doubts that you asked me in the stories: * How do you manage the amount of liquid respect to pasta / rice? I prepare a large quantity of minestrone then I take off only the dose that I need for two and cook it in it: I calculate three ladles of puree and about 30/40 g of pasta or rice per person. Choose the Roma rice, with a round grain, perfect for soups: if I don't have it, I use Vialone nano, a product of excellence in my area
* Can I freeze it? Of course, I prepare a lot of it and then freeze it already in portions, ready for quick dinners! I use the bags so they take up little space in the freezer. You can also freeze individual vegetables when they are in season and then combine them in the pot.
* Do you put other aromas in it? Normally not, but in the summer I add fresh basil. In winter, if you add a teaspoon of Genoese pesto you will feel the energy of your soup! Someone adds the bay leaf (a leaf that must then be removed) but I don't like it very much: I prefer to adjust salt and pepper and feel the flavor of the vegetables well.
Clean the celery by removing any strands it may have and roughly chop it up. Peel the carrots, potatoes, onion and cut these into pieces as well. Cut the zucchini and tomato, fennel and leafy vegetables. Wash all the vegetables and put them in the pot.
Drain the legumes, rinse them and add these too. Pour in the water and cook until all the vegetables are tender. You can decide whether to blend it and make it a "passato" or whether to keep the pieces of vegetables: in the latter case, if there is still too much water when the vegetables are almost cooked, raise the heat a little so you make it evaporate and shrink.
Season with salt and pepper and serve it with a good drizzle of oil and a sprinkling of grated cheese if you like.
