Minestra is an Italian dish that’s full of healthy greens and beans; it’s very nutritious and low fat. Despite the way it looks, it’s absolutely delicious! Give it a try to start the new year off in a healthy manner!
Originally published October 19, 2012.
Minestra has to be one of the most awful looking dishes of all the things I regularly cook.
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There’s nothing else quite like minestra*, in both looks and taste. I don’t know of any British or American dish that I can compare and contrast it with, so you’ll have to go out on a limb and trust me that it’s not just healthy, but also very tasty! It’s also vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free.
Beans provide the protein, so it’s quite a well-rounded meal from a nutritional perspective. You can find canned beans without any added ingredients, but I prefer to cook my own. If you don’t know how, you can learn how easy it is to do! Learn how to cook dried beans.
I remember coming home from work one day when I was pregnant with my first child, and being so happy that my cousin, Denisa (visiting from England) had made minestra for dinner! I suppose it’s a type of Italian “comfort food,” but definitely not one you feel guilty about eating. The combination of different greens is delicious; the sweetness of the Savoy cabbage softens the flavor of the slightly bitter dandelion.
Here’s another recipe which uses Savoy cabbage.
You can add a piece of pancetta or cotechino sausage to minestra. I can’t buy it here in the US, so if I don’t have any on hand, I just skip the entire sausage or meat addition. Cotechino sausage has fennel seeds in it, so to mimic the flavor of the sausage, I throw in some fennel seeds and it works quite well.
Minestra is one of those meals which is even better the next day.
Freshly made, it’s lovely when eaten with pieces of sweet onion and crusty Italian bread to soak up the juices (see photo above). However, the next day, it tastes completely different when reheated with more extra virgin olive oil and pieces of dried crusty bread – it’s crazy good!
Just don’t judge this minestra based on looks. I’m going to show you how to make minestra, and reheat the leftovers and all I hope is that you’re brave enough to give it a try. My neighbor tasted it a while ago and was smitten, and now makes it regularly. In fact, she brought a dish of it for a Thanksgiving side dish last November!
Feel free to mix and match greens, if you like chard or kale, add some; my mother doesn’t like spinach in hers so she doesn’t add it. It’s a greens “free for all!” However, as a base, I would say you shouldn’t omit the cabbage and dandelion greens (cicoria), as they really are the foundation of this dish. If you didn’t know, there are many types of dandelion, not just the yellow flowered variety, which are also edible and can be used for cooking, like this dandelion jelly, for example.
Minestra
a simple D’Aguanno family recipe makes 6 servings
FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW
Ingredients
- extra virgin olive oil
- fresh garlic
- (optional: cotechino sausage or pancetta)
- Savoy cabbages
- dandelion leaves (chicory)
- kale, or chard
- spinach
- dried fennel seeds
- Kosher or sea salt
- black pepper, freshly ground
- cannellini or Borlotti (cranberry) beans, or even navy or pinto beans, cooked (how to cook your own dried beans)
Directions to Make Minestra
Place oil, water and garlic (and cotechio/pancetta if using) in a very large pot; heat over medium high heat.
First 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. You’ll start to think that everything won’t fit in the pot, but it will.
Now add the dandelion leaves, and continue to cook over medium heat, covered, stirring now and then, for about 10 minutes. Add salt, pepper and the fennel seeds. Check to make sure the liquid has not dried up, if so, add more water.
The last greens to go in are the spinach, then cook for another 5 minutes or so. Now add the beans and mix well into the minestra. Taste for salt and pepper, and continue to cook for just a few minutes until the beans are heated through, and that’s it. If it looks like this, you’ve done it correctly!
Serve hot with homemade bread and slices of sweet onion! YUMMY!
Leftover Minestra
- cooked minestra with liquid (if it’s too dry, add a little water)
- 3 to 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (for about 4 cups of minestra) be sure to use top quality oil
- stale, crusty Italian bread, torn into bite size pieces
In a nonstick frying pan over medium heat, put about 2 tablespoonfuls of olive oil, add the minestra and the torn pieces of bread, and drizzle about 1 or 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.
Please let me know what you think of this type of Italian “peasant food” recipe: good or bad; I’d love to hear what your opinion is and if you will try it? Will you never look at my site again? 😂
*For clarification purposes, “minestra” is what my family and people in the area where my family is from, in Italy, call this dish. Minestra is usually more of a soupy dish, however, each area of Italy has different names for sometimes similar dishes. Although my minestra has a lot of liquid, it’s definitely not a soup.
Minestra: Healthy Greens and Beans
A super nutritious greens and beans dish that is made in Italy.
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 1/2 cups (20 oz) of water, or more if needed
- 4 cloves of fresh garlic, crushed
- one large or two small Savoy cabbages, preferably organic, cut into chunks
- one bunch of dandelion leaves, organic, trim off bottom inch, then cut in half
- one bunch of kale, or chard, organic, cut (this is optional)
- one bunch of spinach, organic, trim off bottom part of stems, cut in half
- 1/8 tsp dried fennel seeds
- Kosher or sea salt
- black pepper, freshly ground
- 12 oz or more, Cannellini or Borlotti (cranberry) beans, or even navy or pinto beans, cooked (how to cook your own dried beans)
Instructions
- Place oil, water and garlic in a very large pot; heat over medium high heat. First 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. You'll start to think that everything won't fit in the pot, but it will.
- Now add the dandelion greens, and continue to cook over medium heat, covered, stirring now and then, for about 10 minutes. Add salt, pepper and the fennel seeds. Check to make sure the liquid has not dried up, if so, add more water.
- The last greens to go in are the spinach, then cook for another 5 minutes or so. Now add the beans and mix well into the minestra. Taste for salt and pepper, and continue to cook for just a few minutes until the beans are heated through, and that's it.
- Serve hot with homemade bread and slices of sweet onion! YUMMY!
Leftover Minestra
- cooked minestra with liquid (if it's too dry, add a little water)
- 3 to 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (for about 4 cups of minestra) be sure to use top quality oil
- stale, crusty Italian bread, torn into bite size pieces
- In a nonstick frying pan over medium heat, put about 2 tablespoonfuls of olive oil, add the minestra and the torn pieces of bread, and drizzle about 1 or 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 Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 286Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 233mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 12gSugar: 9gProtein: 11g
Nutrition information is only estimated.
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Happy New Year!! So………………………..I thought I might try Minestra since I,like many others, plan to eat healthier this year. However, as I looked at the photo of it, my eye strayed to the right and I saw your gorgeous -looking yeast doughnuts! Guess which recipe I’m trying today? I’ll let you know how they turn out. (Also if I ever try Minestra!)
Happy New Year, Carol! That is TOOO funny! I love it, though! I honestly think it’s better to be flexible than completely regimented when dealing with our calorie intake. If you deny yourself too much, it backfires! Good luck and let me know how they turn out! :) CC
I am an amateur home cook and I absolutely love old world cooking of any kind! This looks delicious. I wouldn’t judge your picture! I Plan on making this over the weekend.
Oh, I’m so happy to hear this, Jennifer! Thank you and let me know what you think. I have lots of old world cooking recipes (search “cucina povera” on my site).
Hi Christina,
As a kid coming from a family of nine; six girls and three boys my Italian mother whose parents immigrated from the Provences of Cosenza and Calabrian made
beans and escarole (pronounced shcaroll) with a ham hock..wonderfully tasty and stick to the ribs dish served during the cold winter months.
I love the reminder…since I often eat soy beans as a protein source I’ll be making my own versions while enjoying all the benefits of vitamin-packed greens!
Thanks,
Maria B.
Versailles, KY
OMG, I loved the pronunciation of the escarole as there is a town near my mother’s in Italy where they say it that way, too! Glad to hear you love the dish as well! :) Happy New Year!
Yes – the dialect pronunciation is definitely SHcarola..lol!! Would you be able to tell us the name of the town in Italy near your mom’s? I would probably recognize it I think..
Cervaro is the name of the town where my mother’s birth is registered because her village is too small. It’s called Nalli. At the foot of Monte Trocchio.
Hahaha! I love that! I just responded to you on the other thread re: my mum’s village.
I’m definitely going to make this as soon as the weather gets a bit colder.
That’s awesome, Louise! Let me know what you think!
Hi Christina,
I love peasant food, especially the Italian kind. Would be very interested in hearing about the “dry cured sausage with fennel” that would be used in the original. By the way, from which region of Italy does this version originate?
Hi Fabio, my family is from Lazio, between Rome and Naples near Cassino. It’s a version of sausage which includes different parts of the pig that are not usually used in regular sausage (like the skin and ears). To me, it’s heavenly! I just wish I could always have some on hand, but alas. It’s not that easy in LA. :(
Hi Cristina,
I just found your website and think it’s great!! So many of your recipes I grew up with..probably because my parents are from the same region..between Rome and Naples..not far from Cassino. One of my favorite dishes ever is Minestra with beans!
Hi Camelia! SO happy you found me and my page! Minestra is one of my favorites, too! What is the name of the actual town/village where your parents come from?
sorry Christina – I didn’t see your post before I answered above! My parents were from the Formia/Scauri/Gaeta region and I’ve been through Cassino a couple of times when visiting Montecassino Abbey.
OMG, the area where we always go to the beach! I have several posts on the area! Here is one: https://www.christinascucina.com/a-recipe-for-paccheri-con-sugo-di-mare-pasta-with-seafood-sauce-and-a-drive-from-rome-to-sperlonga/
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Hi Christian,
I make something like this, but I add potatoes!
It’s very simple and delicious!
Thanks for all your great recipes!
Have a Happy Super Bowl weekend with family and friends!
We’ll be at my younger son’s house celebrating and eating!
I’m going to bring your no knead pizza with tomatoes and cheese cut into bite size pieces!
Luisa from Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada.
That’s great, Luisa! It’s so nutritious and healthy! I’m so happy you’ll be making the no knead pizza! Yay! I don’t think I’ll be watching the game though (no, in fact I wont!) haha!
Hi Christina, we have a slightly different method for making minestr a, which is also my favourite comfort food. First we bring salted water to a boil. Then we add diced potatoes and ditali pasta. When the pasta and potatoes are half done we add the greens and beans. When cooked thru we drain most (but not all) of the liquid. Separately, we sauté chopped garlic and afresh hot pepper in olive oil. This isaddedto the finished minestra. Finally add Parmesan to taste. If you try this approach, let me know what you think. Theresa
Goodness, I missed this comment, Theresa! Sorry, it was when I was in Spain last year. This sounds a little more like what I’d call minestrone. Funny how different names are given to similar dishes all over Italy! My mother would make minestrone when I was growing up, but unfortunately, I was never a fan. It’s so nutritious and truly a comfort food! Thanks for sharing :)