Minestrone Soup with Chicken
The first time I made a big pot of minestrone, I dumped the ditalini straight into the soup. By lunch the next day the pasta had soaked up nearly all the broth and I was eating something closer to a casserole. Kind of sad. Now I boil the pasta in its own pot and spoon it into each bowl right before serving.
The step I won’t rush is the pancetta. I let it render slowly in olive oil until the edges go crisp, then cook the onion, garlic and tomato paste in that fat until the paste turns a shade darker, which is where the savory base comes from. The seared chicken goes back in at the very end, cut into bite-size pieces, just long enough to warm through. We eat it with a thick slice of crusty bread and a pile of grated Parmesan.
This minestrone soup with chicken is the pot I make once the nights turn cold. Squash, cabbage and white beans simmer in a tomato broth until everything's tender but still holds its shape. Thick and filling. It makes about ten bowls and keeps four days in the fridge.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with half of the salt and a little of the pepper, then sear for 5 to 6 minutes per side, until golden and 165°F in the thickest part. Move it to a cutting board to rest.4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, 1 tsp kosher salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper
- Lower the heat to medium and add the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil and the pancetta. Cook, stirring often, for 6 to 8 minutes, until the fat renders and the edges crisp. Add the onion and cook 5 minutes until soft and translucent, then stir in the garlic for 1 minute.5 oz pancetta, 1 sweet onion, 3 garlic cloves
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, until it darkens to a brick red. Add the potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, celery, bay leaves, Italian seasoning, oregano and red pepper flakes, and stir for 3 minutes to coat everything in the fat.2 tbsp tomato paste, 2 potatoes, 1 cup butternut squash, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, 2 bay leaves, 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning, 1/2 tsp dried oregano, 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- Crush the tomatoes by hand into the pot with their juices, then pour in the broth and water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a gentle simmer and cook, partly covered, for 25 to 30 minutes, until the potatoes and squash are tender when pierced with a knife.1 (28-oz) can whole peeled tomatoes, 8 cups chicken broth, 4 cups water
- Meanwhile, boil the ditalini in a saucepan of well-salted water for 1 minute less than the package time. Drain and keep it on the side so it doesn't soak up the broth.8 oz ditalini pasta
- Add the zucchini and cabbage to the pot and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, until the cabbage wilts and the zucchini is just tender. Stir in the cannellini beans and spinach and cook 2 to 3 minutes more, until the spinach collapses.2 zucchini, 6 cups green cabbage, 2 (19-oz) cans cannellini beans, 4 cups fresh spinach
- Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and stir it into the soup with the parsley; warm through for 2 minutes. Remove the bay leaves, taste and add more salt if needed. Spoon some pasta into each bowl, ladle the soup over it and top with grated cheese and a pinch of parsley.1/4 cup fresh parsley, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano
Nutrition
Notes
Store the ditalini apart from the soup, or it'll drink up the broth overnight. The soup freezes well without the pasta for up to 3 months.
You might also like our Authentic French Beef Bourguignon.
made this sunday and cooked the ditalini on the side like you said, so glad i did. leftovers were still soupy on tuesday. used savoy cabbage bc thats what i had
really good but next time i’ll go easier on the pepper flakes for my kids, my pinch was more like a big pinch lol. the pancetta makes the broth so rich
used rotisserie chicken to save time and it worked great. heads up my 8 qt dutch oven was full to the brim with all the cabbage