Many households are always on the lookout for healthy recipes – and some of which often go as far as being dubbed as miracle health cures.
One stand-out recipe that has been around for centuries and is said to be the secret to a long and healthy life is minestrone soup.
This soup has been enjoyed for years by the Melis family who have the Guinness World Record title for the highest combined age for nine living siblings.
When the record was awarded to them in 2012, their total age was 861 years and the oldest sibling reached age 109.
It was reported that the family ate the soup, bread, and a glass of red wine for lunch every day.
Taking to TikTok a doctor has even praised minestrone soup and said it can lower cholesterol, improve gut health, support weight management, and lower an individual’s cancer risk.
Dr Tim Tiutan said: “This amazing plant-based soup is full of vitamins and minerals, fibre, and more.”
Traditionally, a minestrone soup is made with whatever vegetables are growing in the garden. The minestrone recipe I chose to follow was one from cooking guru Mary Berry – and it’s a springtime version.
Describing the dish, Mary said: “This light and summery minestrone soup makes the most of springtime vegetables.”
The recipe took me less than 30 minutes to prep and just under one hour to cook.
Ingredients (three portions)
One and a half tablespoons olive oil
20g butter
One large onion, finely chopped
Half a leek, halved lengthways and thinly sliced
125g potatoes, peeled and finely chopped
Two celery sticks, finely chopped
100g cabbage
One litre chicken, beef or vegetable stock (I used chicken)
200g tin of chopped tomatoes
Salt and pepper
One tablespoon green pesto (optional)
Method
I started by weighing out the ingredients, peeling the potatoes and chopping them as well as the rest of the vegetables.
I then grabbed a large enough and heated up the oil and butter for a few seconds before adding in the onions, leeks and potatoes and cooking for about five minutes.
You essentially want to leave the vegetables cooking until they start to soften and make sure to stir from time to time to avoid them sticking to the pan, particularly when it comes to the potatoes.
Once those vegetables have softened slightly, add the celery and cook for a few minutes more – I left them to cook for around an extra five minutes.
Remember that every minestrone recipe is slightly different, so don’t be afraid to make it your own business adding different vegetables, pasta, or beans.
In the meantime, I prepared the stock for the soup. To do so, I boiled a litre of water and dissolved two chicken stock cubes into in.
Once the celery has softened too, pour the stock and tinned tomatoes into the pan with the cabbage. Bring to the boil and gently simmer for about 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes I checked on the soup and found that the potatoes were still slightly too hard for my liking so I left it simmering for an extra 20 minutes.
Coming back to the soup 20 minutes later, the potatoes were beautifully cooked in the soup, it just needed a little more salt and pepper.
Although this soup wasn’t packed full of so many ingredients like typical minestrone recipes, I felt full after devouring a bowl of it.
This soup would be great for everyone in the family and is a great way to pack in vegetables for those fussy eaters.
