minestrone
Minestrone is a hearty, thick Italian soup made with a variety of vegetables, often including beans, onions, celery, carrots, stock, and tomatoes. The mental image is a rustic, colorful bowl brimming with chopped produce and pasta or rice, usually served with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and a crusty piece of bread. While it is a staple of Italian home cooking, the word is used globally to describe any robust vegetable-based soup. It is a very casual, comfort-food term; you wouldn't typically find it on a high-end "fine dining" menu unless it is described as a "seasonal vegetable medley" or similar. It is frequently associated with healthy, home-cooked, or family-style meals.
In conversation
Deciding on dinner
It's freezing outside, do you want to grab something warm?
It's freezing outside, do you want to grab something warm?
How about that Italian place? I'm craving a big bowl of minestrone.
How about that Italian place? I'm craving a big bowl of minestrone.
Used here to express a desire for comfort food on a cold day.
Cooking together
Make sure you dice the carrots small so they cook evenly in the minestrone.
Make sure you dice the carrots small so they cook evenly in the minestrone.
Got it. Should I add the pasta now or at the end?
Got it. Should I add the pasta now or at the end?
Refers to the process of preparing the soup.
Examples
I made a pot of minestrone for lunch.
I made a pot of minestrone for lunch.
The minestrone was packed with fresh vegetables and beans.
The minestrone was packed with fresh vegetables and beans.
She simmered the minestrone for hours to let the flavors of the seasonal herbs meld together.
She simmered the minestrone for hours to let the flavors of the seasonal herbs meld together.
