Minestrone soup with vegetables and beans

Ingredients

• Two stalks of celery
• 2 carrots
• Two small zucchini
• 3 garden apples
• 150 g of dried white or red beans
• 100 g of smoked bacon
• 1 sprig of parsley
• 1 medium onion
• 250 g of tomatoes
• 5 sprigs of parsley
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/4 of a head of Milan cabbage
• 100 g of green beans
• 300 g of fresh green peas or 1 bunch of fresh parsley
• 150 g of pasta or rice
• 1 tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese
• A few fresh sage or basil leaves
• olive oil
• salt
• 2.5 liters of water

Cover the dried beans with cold water and let them soak overnight, then cook and drain them.

Dice the bacon, chop the celery and carrots into sticks, dice the zucchini, peeled pumpkins, and onion. Blanch the tomatoes, then plunge them into cold water, peel them, and dice them. Finely chop the parsley and garlic. Shred the cabbage and basil (or sage). Trim the green beans and cut them into 2 cm pieces, and cut the pastry into small squares.

In a large pot, combine the bacon, onion, garlic, and parsley root. Add the oil and basil or sage. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add all the vegetables except the tomatoes, dried beans, green beans, and green peas. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Add 2.5 liters of water, then add the cooked beans. Season with salt and cover and cook for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Next, add the tomatoes, green peas, or green beans (fresh green peas should be added towards the end of cooking), followed by the pasta or rice, and cook until tender.

Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.