We’re never in our own house for Christmas as we travel up north to be with family. That doesn’t stop us on insisting that the stock left in the pot in which the ham was cooked, goes into the freezer ready for us to take home and make minestrone with. The perfect foil for all the over-indulgence in the days preceding.
Winter Minestrone – serves 6
- 500g cavolo nero, remove any thicker stalks and shred thickly
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 ribs of celery, diced, with a few leaves
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- 400g pumpkin/squash flesh, peeled and cut into 1cm chunks
- 1 potato
- 400g cooked white beans – we used a tin of cannellini beans
- 1.5 litres of ham stock, water or bean broth (if you’ve cooked dried beans)
- A parmesan rind (always good to keep in the fridge to add extra depth of flavour to soups)
- A small sprig of sage
- Freshly grated Parmesan, to serve
Wash the cavolo nero, strip any particularly thick stems from the leaves and roughly chop. Roll up the leaves and shred thickly.
Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-based pan and slowly fry the onion and celery with a pinch of salt, until soft, about 8 minutes.
Add the pumpkin/squash to the pan along with the cavolo nero stems and a tiny pinch of salt, stirring until each chunk glistens with oil. Add half the cavolo nero leaves, half the beans, the water and the parmesan rind.
Turn up the heat so the soup is almost boiling, then reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Five minutes before the end of the cooking time, add the rest of the cavolo nero and beans. Taste and season, then add the chopped sage. Allow it to sit for 5 minutes, then serve with some freshly grated Parmesan.
(Original recipe by Rachel Roddy in The Guardian, 24th November 2017.)
Jono & Jules do food & wine 
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