It’s not just for winter: minestrone can be a summer dish too! Here are Andrea Berton’s tips for making it fresh and flavorful, starting with how to use up those Parmigiano rinds.
1. Vegetable and Cheese Broth
Ingredients
- 2 liters of water (for the broth base)
- 500 g Cheese rinds (wrapped in a cheesecloth)
- 2 white onions (peeled and halved)
- 250 g Celery stalks
- 150 g Carrots (peeled and diced)
- 100 g celeriac (cut into mirepoix)
- 200 g potatoes (peeled and cut into mirepoix)
- 100 g portobello mushrooms (cut into mirepoix)
- 100 g Jerusalem artichokes (cut into mirepoix)
- 100 g datterino tomatoes (halved)
- 1 clove of garlic (unpeeled)
- 1 sprig of thyme
- 2 g peppercorns
Clarifying the broth
- 2 liters of vegetable broth
- 200 g egg whites
- Salt to taste
2. Seasonings and aromatic oils
Aromatic oil
- 50 g extra virgin olive oil
- 50 g sunflower oil
- 1 clove of garlic (unpeeled)
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- 2 sprigs of rosemary
Basil oil
- 100 g sunflower oil
- 50 g basil
Gomasio
- 100 g toasted black sesame seeds
- 25 g whole salt
- 1 sheet of nori seaweed (cut into small pieces)
3. Preparation of vegetables (cooked and raw)
Sweet-and-sour red onions
- 1 red onion (cut into thin wedges)
- 500 g Water
- 150 g Red wine vinegar
- 100 g Sugar
- 5 g Salt
Grilled potatoes and carrots
- 8 new potatoes (washed)
- 6 baby carrots (washed)
Zucchini
- 2 yellow zucchini
- 2 green zucchini
- Aromatic oil (from the previous preparation)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Blanched / Steamed vegetables
- 1 daikon (peeled, trimmed, and cut into 2mm-thick triangles)
- The florets of 1 green broccoli (separated)
- 100 g green beans (halved)
- 100 g baby snow peas (cut into diamond shapes)
Raw Vegetables
- 2 radishes
- 1 spring onion
- Salt and pepper to taste
4. Legumes
- “Beluga” lentils
- Cannellini beans (soaked in water for at least 6 hours)
- Kombu seaweed (to be used during cooking)
5. Finishing and Plating
Crispy elements and garnishes
- Cheese chips (microwaved)
- Bread chips
- Pesto
- Basil oil (from the previous preparation)
Fresh herbs and sprouts
- Basil sprouts
- Nasturtium sprouts
- Yarrow sprouts
- Purslane sprouts
1. Broth
- Broth base: Sauté the onions in a pan for 5 minutes without added fat. Add the other vegetables and sauté for a few minutes. Add the cheese rinds (wrapped in a cloth) and cover with 8 liters of cold water. Bring to a boil and let simmer gently for 8 hours.
- Reduction: Strain the liquid and let it reduce on the stove until exactly 2 liters of broth remain. Let cool.
- Clarification: Pour the egg white into the cold broth and stir continuously with a whisk to prevent the egg white from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Heat to 100°C until the “egg white cap” rises to the surface. Let it simmer for 15 minutes without touching it, then strain everything through a fine-mesh strainer lined with a cheesecloth. Season with salt if necessary and set aside.
2. Aromatic Oils and Basic Condiments
- Aromatic oil: Combine the extra virgin olive oil and sunflower oil in a saucepan. Heat, add the aromatics (garlic, thyme, rosemary), and keep warm at a constant temperature of 60 °C for 2 hours. Strain and set aside.
- Basil oil: Combine the seed oil and basil in a blender. Heat to 70°C and blend for 5 minutes. Strain, pour into a measuring jug, and let settle in the refrigerator. Before use, remove the watery layer that has settled at the bottom.
- Gomasio: Combine the toasted black sesame seeds, coarse salt, and pieces of nori seaweed in a blender and blend until a fine powder forms.
3. Preparing the vegetables
- Sweet-and-sour red onions: Combine the water, red wine vinegar, sugar, and salt in a saucepan. Bring the liquid to a boil, add the red onion slices, then remove the saucepan from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
- Grilled potatoes and carrots: Wrap the new potatoes and baby carrots separately in aluminum foil. Cook the carrots over the coals for 10 minutes and the new potatoes over the coals for 30 minutes. Once cooked, cut them into 1-cm-thick segments and season with the aromatic oil, salt, and pepper.
- Zucchini: Thinly slice the yellow and green zucchini lengthwise. Cook them on both sides without oil in a very hot skillet. Season with the aromatic oil, salt, and pepper. For each minestrone, create 2 portions consisting of 2 yellow slices and 2 green slices layered on top of each other.
- Blanched vegetables: Clean the daikon, broccoli, green beans, and snow peas. Blanch each vegetable separately in boiling salted water for a few minutes, then immediately cool them in ice water. Pat dry and season with the prepared gomasio, aromatic oil, salt, and pepper.
- Raw vegetables: Thinly slice the radishes and spring onion, then place them in ice water for at least 1 hour. Drain them well before serving and season with aromatic oil, salt, and pepper.
4. Cooking the legumes
- Lentils: Cook the beluga lentils in unsalted boiling water for 30 minutes along with a piece of dried kombu seaweed.
- Cannellini beans: Cook the cannellini beans (previously soaked) in the same manner as the lentils (in unsalted water with kombu seaweed) for 40 minutes.
- Finishing: Drain the legumes and season them thoroughly with salt, pepper, and a drizzle of aromatic oil.
5. Plating
- Plate composition: Place a 6.5 cm diameter steel ring in the center of the plate. Arrange a portion of zucchini inside it. Place the lentils at the base and continue layering with the cannellini beans. Add a teaspoon of pesto.
- Garnish: Continue by adding the cooked vegetables, the crisp vegetables (raw and sweet-and-sour), the herbs, and the fresh sprouts. Top the dish with the microwaved cheese chips and the crispy bread chips. Finish with a drizzle of basil oil.
- Serving: Gently remove the steel ring and serve the dish in front of the guest, pouring the warm vegetable broth and clarified cheese just before serving.
Address
Ristorante Berton Milano
Via Mike Bongiorno, 13, 20124 Milan MI
Tel: 0267075801
