Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup

Come home to a soup whose flavors had hours to mix and develop - for a fragrant and comforting result.

Meant to be made with any vegetables one has on hand/ leftovers, minestrone is a rustic soup belonging to the <cucina povera> family of Italian recipes. These are dishes made with inexpensive ingredients - available to the rural population.

As opposed to thin broths, minestrone is a thick, hearty soup that resembles a stew - often made with beans, pasta and rice.

Its roots have been traced back to before the Roman Empire.

Interestingly enough, tomatoes were not initially part of the original recipe. As much as we associate tomatoes with Italian cuisine now, these vegetable-fruits originate from Central and South America. They were only introduced in Europe in the 16th century - and even then, while people liked them for their beauty, it was believed that they are poisonous. We've come a long way!

Our recipe uses white beans, celery, tomatoes and tomato paste, carrots, Italian herbs and garlic. We chose gemelli (which means "twins" in Italian) for the pasta - however you can use your favorite pasta shape.

This recipe is part of the 2020 - Week 40 Menu - Slow Cooker Recipes. Look under Menus for the other recipes of the series or Subscribe to our mailing list and receive complete weekly menu ideas with everything from the grocery shopping list to all standardized recipes in a menu, as well as an organized Order of Cooking list to save you time in the kitchen.

Download the standardized recipe here:

Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup

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