Soups and Broths · Card SO03
Tomato Minestrone with Ditalini Pasta
A brothy, tomato-forward minestrone with tiny ditalini tubes, sweet diced carrot and a slow-cooked base of onion and celery. A parmesan rind in the pot gives it a savory backbone you would swear came from meat. It is a clean-out-the-crisper soup that still tastes planned.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Total
- 1 hr 5 min
- Serves
- 6
- Level
- Easy
- Cuisine
- Italian
Method
Step 1: Warm the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery with a good pinch of salt and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 12 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and the kitchen smells sweet.
Step 2: Add the garlic and zucchini and cook for 3 minutes more, just until the garlic loses its raw edge.
Step 3: Pour in the tomatoes and broth, drop in the parmesan rind and oregano, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes to let the flavors marry.
Step 4: Stir in the beans and ditalini. Simmer uncovered, stirring now and then so the pasta does not settle and stick, for 9 to 11 minutes, until the pasta is just tender.
Step 5: Fish out the rind, which will be soft and stringy. Stir in the chopped parsley and season with salt and pepper; the broth should taste bright and full, not flat.
Step 6: Ladle into bowls, top each with a parsley sprig, and serve with baguette slices for dunking.
Kitchen note
Pasta keeps drinking broth as it sits, so if you plan on leftovers, cook the ditalini separately and add it to each bowl as you serve.
Easy swap
Use small elbow macaroni or broken spaghetti if ditalini is hard to find; adjust cooking time to the package.
Filed nearby
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