Name: Mum’s minestrone
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 135 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 2 thick pieces shin of beef; 500 gram beef soup bones; 2.5 litre cold water; 2 tablespoon olive oil; 2 onions, peeled and chopped; 2 clove of crushed garlic; 2 leaves of silverbeet, finely chopped; 1 tomato, peeled and diced; 2 celery stalks with leaves, chopped; 2 large carrots, chopped; 1 potato, peeled and chopped; 300 gram tin kidney beans; 12 sticks of spaghetti, broken into small lengths; 1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped

Ingredients

2 thick pieces shin of beef

500 gram beef soup bones

2.5 litre cold water

2 tablespoon olive oil

2 onions, peeled and chopped

2 clove of crushed garlic

2 leaves of silverbeet, finely chopped

1 tomato, peeled and diced

2 celery stalks with leaves, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

1 potato, peeled and chopped

300 gram tin kidney beans

12 sticks of spaghetti, broken into small lengths

1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped

Method

1.Make the stock the day before. Put the cold water into a soup pot then score the shin of beef deeply with a sharp knife to expose as much surface as possible.

2.Put the beef and the bones into the water and allow them to stand for at least an hour so the blood leaches out of the meat into the water. Slowly bring to the boil and simmer for 1½ hours. The meat should be falling apart. Remove the meat and bones and refrigerate the stock overnight so that any fat rises to the surface and solidifies.

3.The next day remove the fat and return the chopped meat to the stock. In a separate deep saucepan heat the olive oil and sauté the onion until translucent, then add the garlic and cook for a few minutes before tossing in the chopped silver beet, which should be allowed to wilt.

4.Then add the tomato and let it soften; the flavours of these ingredients should be allowed to merge before the stock is poured over them. Add the chopped vegetables and kidney beans and simmer until the vegetables are well cooked.

5.Fifteen minutes before serving throw in the spaghetti, then finally the parsley. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese and crusty bread.

I sometimes make vegetarian minestrone but it’s never as tasty as this version, which relies on a really rich beef stock. Taking the trouble to make good stock makes all the difference to the end result.
Note

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