In my eyes, Ina Garten can do no wrong. I don’t think I’ve ever tried a recipe of hers that I haven’t loved and I have tried many, trust me. Her recipes are reliably delicious and deliciously rustic and simple, which is my favorite kind of food. Her Winter Minestrone is no exception. With creamy cannelini beans and sweet, nutty butternut squash, it’s hearty and nourishing but has a lovely balance of flavor unlike any other minestrone I’ve ever had. And it’s done in under an hour, which is always good news. In other words, I can’t think of a thing I would change about it.
Ina has you start by browning the pancetta, which is a lovely foundation for the rest of the soup. The veggies — onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and the butternut squash — get cooked down in that pancetta fat and then tomatoes and stock hop in to simmer those vegetables to tenderness.
Ina says that simmering process will take thirty minutes, but I think you could shave a couple minutes off of that if you needed to. You’re stirring in the cannelini beans and pasta (already cooked) right at the end, so those won’t take any additional simmering time.
Once the pasta and beans are warm, you’ll stir in spinach, some white wine, and a touch of pesto. It’s five ounces of spinach, which seems like a lot… but the magic of spinach is that it wilts down to almost nothing in no time. I could see using kale here instead, or really any leafy green you prefer! Stirring in the white wine at the very end keeps it especially bright and the pesto helps in that endeavor too.
It’s a nuanced soup — plenty of aromatic veggies, but sweet butternut too. Really, it’s what Ina does best — hearty, rustic, simple food but elevated just enough to make it special.
Ina Garten's Winter Minestrone
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 oz pancetta, diced 1/2-inch in size
- 1 1/2 cups yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cups carrots, diced 1/2-inch in size (about 3 carrots)
- 2 cups celery, diced 1/2-inch in size (about 3 stalks)
- 2 1/2 cups butternut squash, peeled and diced 1/2-inch in size
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 (26 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 6-8 cups chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 cups small pasta, cooked, such as tubetti or ditalini
- 5 oz fresh baby spinach
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons pesto
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, for serving
Preparation
- In a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and add pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 6-8 minutes.
- Add onions, carrots, celery, squash, garlic, and thyme and cook over medium heat until vegetables begin to soften, stirring occasionally, 8-10 minutes.
- Stir in tomatoes, 6 cups of the stock, the bay leaf, and 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons of black pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer, uncovered, until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
- Discard bay leaf. Stir in beans and pasta and cook until warmed. Soup should be thick, but if it's too thick you can add more stock to thin it out.
- When ready to serve, stir in spinach until just wilted. Stir in white wine and pesto. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then serve, drizzled with olive oil and topped with parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Recipe from Recipe from The Barefoot Contessa.