Hearty Soup

The satisfaction on her family’s face after a bowl of her minestrone soup is what keeps Maria making it every time she has company over.

Since Maria Rindinella was a young woman, growing up all over the world in Italy, France and South Africa, she has loved a bowl of soup. So when it came, her mother taught her how to make an Italian classic, a minestrone soup.

To begin, she brings a pot of salted water to a boil, usually about 4-6 cups of water.

Once the salted water has boiled, she starts to add in vegetables. Usually Maria will add in a cut up potato, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, carrots, onions, a can of beans in tomato sauce, and most importantly a few stalks of fresh celery.

Maria explains that she doesn’t know why, but when her mother taught her the recipe, she stated that fresh celery stalks are key to the recipe. She also states that with the other vegetables, it does not matter if they are fresh or frozen, but she prefers to use frozen vegetables because it costs less for larger quantities.

“The vegetables in this soup are all versatile; you can add and subtract any for your own preference.” Maria says in her native Italian tongue.

The vegetables will cook in the water for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes have cooked. Once they are soft enough to pierce with a fork, turn down the heat and let it simmer for a little while longer.

While the vegetables simmer in the water, put another pot of salted water on to boil. Once this water has boiled, she puts in some pasta.

Maria keeps a close watch on the pasta as she stirs the vegetables, because she likes to take the past out of the water before it is fully cooked, because later on it will finish cooking in the soup broth.

After the water seems to of absorbed the tastes of the vegetables, using either a hand blender or food processor, mix all the vegetables together, creating a thick broth, or as she calls it in Italian, brodo.

If using a food processor, it is best to puree the vegetables and water in small batches to avoid it seeping from the creases of the machine while it is pureeing.

Once all the water and vegetables has been turned into brodo, let it heat back up to a boil on the stove, then reduce heat to medium and add the pasta.

Let it sit for about ten minutes with the pasta in it, then serve in a bowl, accompanied with a piece of bread.

Eliseo Rindinella, Maria’s oldest son, puts his own twist on the soup by adding some extra virgin olive oil to his bowl of soup once it has been served.

Minestrone soup means big soup, according to Deborah Mele, a cook, who shares her love for Italian cooking online at italianfoodforever.com.

“There are as many different versions of minestrone as there are regions in Italy,” says Mele on her site.

“Puoi usare qualsiasi verdure che vuoi, e tutto a la vostra preferenza.” Maria says, “You can use any vegetable you like, it is all up to your preference.”