About minestra and minestrone
The basic term minestra means – translated – soup. A minestra in brodo is a clear soup – soup – and can be a long grain rice soup as well as a vegetable soup.
A minestrina is understood as ‘a light soup’, and a minestrone as ‘the thick soup’. Contrary to the ‘thick’ rule, however, bread soup is called minestra di pane.
Vegetable soup is now commonly called minestrone. If dried borlotti beans are added, the soup is called borlanda. On the other hand, a parsley soup (bay spice, sage, basil, a little long grain rice) is a minestrone di prezzemolo nostrano (prezzemolo nostrano is the large Italian parsley species).
The minestrone ticinese
The minestrone is considered the queen of soups. Originally native to Lombardy in Italy, this delicious soup is lovingly prepared in Ticino without a strictly guarded recipe. The choice of vegetables depends on the season. In contrast to the Italian model, the Ticino minestrone is cooked without long grain rice and pasta.
Preparation
Finely chop the vegetables and saute them in olive oil with chopped onions, pressed garlic and diced bacon until soft. Add tomato puree, saute and fill up with soup.
Boil down for about half an hour.
Add white beans and finely chopped potatoes, simmer repeatedly for 20 minutes. Season the minestrone with salt and pepper and to taste.