Gambardella's Minestrone Soup

This is a proper Italian minestrone built from the ground up: five dried legumes (cannellini, kidney beans, chickpeas, lentils, and split peas) soaked overnight, then simmered with a garden’s worth of fresh herbs and vegetables. Fresh fennel bulb and fennel seeds give the broth an anise-scented backbone that sets this apart from every other minestrone you’ve had.

The overnight soak and separate cooking of the beans and potatoes before they join the main pot is old-school Italian technique. Each component gets the cooking time it needs so nothing ends up mushy or underdone. The bean cooking liquid goes right into the soup, carrying all that starch and flavor with it.

Sauteing the aromatics (onion, garlic, bell pepper, celery, and fennel) until the onions turn golden builds the flavor base. A third of a cup of fresh basil and half a cup of fresh oregano are serious quantities, and they fill the kitchen with the kind of smell that makes people ask what’s for dinner from across the house.

Chef Tips

• Soak all the legumes together overnight. They cook at slightly different rates, but the 20-minute pre-cook followed by the hour-long simmer evens everything out.
• Skim the foam during the first bean cook. That gray foam is impurities and proteins from the dried beans. Removing it keeps the broth clearer and cleaner-tasting.
• Use fresh herbs, not dried. The quantities listed are for fresh. Dried would be overwhelming and taste completely different.
• This soup is better on day two. Refrigerate overnight and the flavors deepen and meld. Thin with broth when reheating.

Variations

• Make it vegetarian by using vegetable broth instead of chicken.
• Add a Parmesan rind to the pot during the final simmer for a rich, umami-laden broth.
• Stir in torn kale or spinach in the last 10 minutes for more greens.