Minestrone
A hearty Italian vegetable soup with pancetta, beans, kale and pasta, slow-cooked in the Instant Pot.
⏱️ Prep: 20 min🍳 Cook: 300 min
Ingredients
| 2 tbsp | 30 ml | olive oil |
| 4 oz | 115 g | pancetta, diced |
| 1 | large yellow onion, diced | |
| 1 | shallot, minced | |
| — | crushed red pepper flakes, to taste | |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | dried thyme |
| 3 | large carrots, diced | |
| 3 | stalks celery, diced | |
| 1 | fennel bulb, cored and chopped | |
| 3 | medium yukon gold potatoes, chopped | |
| 1 | medium zucchini, diced | |
| 3 | cloves garlic, minced | |
| 1 tbsp | 15 ml | tomato paste |
| 0.5 cup | 120 ml | dry white wine |
| 2 | cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with Tuscan herbs | |
| 6 cup | 1.4 l | chicken stock |
| 1 | can (15 oz) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed | |
| 1 | parmesan rind, optional | |
| 1 | bunch kale, stalks removed, chopped | |
| 2 cup | 480 ml | pasta, cooked |
| — | parmesan cheese, freshly grated, for serving |
Instructions
Prep time 20 mins. Cook time 5 hrs. Yield: Serves 8.
- Set your Instant Pot to 'sauté' and add the olive oil. Add the pancetta and let cook until most of the fat has rendered and it begins to crisp. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- To the fat remaining in the Instant Pot, add the onion, shallot, crushed red pepper flakes, dried thyme and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onions turn translucent and begin to soften.
- Once the onions have softened, add the carrots, celery, fennel, potatoes and zucchini. Cook until the vegetables begin to brown and soften slightly, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook for about 1 minute, stirring to coat all of the vegetables. Add the wine, scraping up any brown bits that have formed, and let it reduce by half.
- Add the tomatoes, chicken stock and parmesan rind (if using), beans and reserved pancetta. Seal the Instant Pot and set to the slow cook function for 5 hours.
- After 5 hours of cooking time, open the pot and check if the vegetables are tender. (If not, set the pot back to the 'sauté' function and cook until tender.) With the pot on 'sauté' add the kale and cook until bright green and tender, about 5 minutes. Turn off the pot and ladle soup into bowls, add cooked pasta to each bowl and garnish with fresh parmesan cheese before serving.