Star Q
There were a few guys mowing the sprawling lawn of the students' residence where I was staying that day. It was early noon and I suppose, all of them were hungry for their lunch break. They actually took me by surprise when one of them looked through my kitchen window, and commented that something smelled great from the kitchen! I was cooking Minestrone that day!
It was my first attempt and having received such a complement from someone who obviously knew more about western dishes than I did, was indeed my highlight for that day. I had followed the recipe from a supplementary that came with one Sunday newspaper, and I was glad I did both; tried the recipe and bought the newspaper.
That was during my Mary Morris days. I never had Minestrone after that day until I a few days ago when I tried a bowl of it at one of the fastfood outlets well-known for their roast chickens. I was totally put off after having one slurp of the Minestrone. However, my daughter insisted that I made more at home. And so I did, according to my own version, plus or minus the recipe I used many years ago!
For the croutons :
Preheat oven to 180 C. Mix the bread cubes with the olive oil and grated Parmesan. Place onto a baking tray and bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Once done, allow to cool and store in an airtight container (make extra for future use with salads, soups etc)
For the Minestrone :
In a pot, heat the olive oil and saute the onion and garlic. Once aromatic add in the tomatoes, water, stock cubes, dried oregano and bay leaf. Bring to the boil then simmer gently for about ten minutes or until all the tomatoes have broken down and add the black pepper. Serve warm, garnished with some croutons sprinkled with some grated Parmesan.
Note : I omitted the pasta part because I wanted my Minestrone to look more like thick soup and I served it warm, not hot, because I didn't want the croutons to become soggy too quickly.
For the croutons :
- 3 slices day-old bread, cubed
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 1 tbs grated Parmesan
Preheat oven to 180 C. Mix the bread cubes with the olive oil and grated Parmesan. Place onto a baking tray and bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Once done, allow to cool and store in an airtight container (make extra for future use with salads, soups etc)
For the Minestrone :
- 1 large onion. diced
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 carrot, diced
- 2 cans plum tomatoes
- 1 liter water
- 2 chicken stock cubes
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 1.2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbs grated Parmesan
- 1 tbs olive oil
In a pot, heat the olive oil and saute the onion and garlic. Once aromatic add in the tomatoes, water, stock cubes, dried oregano and bay leaf. Bring to the boil then simmer gently for about ten minutes or until all the tomatoes have broken down and add the black pepper. Serve warm, garnished with some croutons sprinkled with some grated Parmesan.
Note : I omitted the pasta part because I wanted my Minestrone to look more like thick soup and I served it warm, not hot, because I didn't want the croutons to become soggy too quickly.
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