Description
Minestra is a healthy Italian dish featuring a hearty mix of greens and beans. It’s a nutritious and flavorful meal, often considered Italian comfort food, that is low in fat and easy to adapt for various dietary needs.
Ingredients
Scale
- 6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 ½ cups water or more if needed
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 large Savoy cabbage, cut into chunks
- 1 bunch dandelion leaves, trim off bottom inch, then cut in half
- 1 bunch kale or chard, cut (optional)
- 1 bunch spinach, trim off bottom part of stems, cut in half
- ⅛ tsp dried fennel seeds
- ½ tsp sea salt, to taste
- ⅛ tsp black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
- 12 oz Cannellini beans or Borlotti (cranberry) beans, or even navy or pinto beans, cooked
- Optional: cotechino sausage or pancetta
Instructions
- Place oil, water, and garlic in a very large pot. Heat over medium-high heat.
- Add the chopped Savoy cabbage and cover with the lid. After about 5 minutes, stir (add the kale if using) and cover again. Let cook for another 5 minutes, then stir once more.
- Add the dandelion greens. Continue to cook over medium heat, covered, stirring now and then, for about 10 minutes.
- Add salt, pepper, and fennel seeds. Add more water if the liquid has dried up.
- Add the spinach and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Add the cooked beans and mix well into the minestra.
- Taste for salt and pepper. Cook for a few more minutes until the beans are heated through.
- Serve hot with homemade bread and slices of sweet onion.
- To reheat leftovers: In a nonstick frying pan over medium heat, add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the cooked minestra and torn pieces of stale, crusty Italian bread. Drizzle 1-2 more tablespoons of olive oil on top. Cook, stirring frequently, until the bread has absorbed the liquid and softened, and everything is heated through. Serve hot with slices of sweet onion if desired.
Notes
- All greens should be washed before cutting.
- Nutrition facts are for the freshly made minestra.
- This minestra is easy to make vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free.
- If cotechino sausage or pancetta is not available, omit it or add fennel seeds to mimic the flavor.
- This dish is often even better the next day.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Main Courses
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving (approx. 1/6 of recipe)
- Calories: 241 kcal
- Sugar: 7 g
- Sodium: 415 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 24 g
- Fiber: 10 g
- Protein: 8 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
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