Easy Blue Zone Minestrone Soup Recipe

You’ve made a ‘minestrone’ of it! Translates as ‘you’ve made a hodgepodge of things’.

A blue zone minestrone is just that – a hearty soup made with a jumbled mix of vegetables and pulses that you can find on most dinner tables in Sardinia and mainland Italy.

The key to an authentic minestrone soup is that there is no set recipe, you can mix ingredients that you have available and you enjoy eating. No minestrone recipe is exactly the same, and it’s common to find that different regions and households have their preferred ingredients.

However you choose to make it, minestrone is a fantastically healthy, quick and nourishing soup (even earning the nickname in Sardinia of ‘blue zone longevity soup’). For maximum health benefits, I recommend including pulses and ensuring you use organic vegetables.

Sardinian Minestrone (Blue Zone Longevity Soup) 

This traditional Blue Zone minestrone recipe is an easy dish that would usually be made in large batches to last for days, often enjoyed in the evenings—after all, who wants to go to bed with a heavy meal?

It starts with a ‘soffritto’, a foundation of gently sautéed aromatics common in Italian cooking. Then, all the vegetables are added to a pot of water and simmered until tender, with some naturally breaking down to create a creamy texture without the need for blending.

Serves 2 

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Blue Zone Minestrone Soup Ingredients

• • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 250g potatoes (peeled)
  • 1 onion
  • 1 stick of celery
  • 1 carrots, peeled
  • 1 can of green lentils
  • 1 can of cannellini
  • 1 courgette
  • 100g frozen peas
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 litre of hot water
  • 10 g salt

To serve: Grated Pecorino cheese sprinkled on top

Step By Step Minestrone Recipe Method

• • Chop the celery, carrots and onion finely to make a soffritto.
  • Then chop the potatoes and courgette into cubes of approximately 1 cm sides.
  • In a large pot, heat 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil.
  • Add in the carrots, celery and onion to cook until golden at medium heat. It usually takes about 5 minutes.
  • Add the tomato puree to cook for 1-2 minutes
  • Pour in the hot water and add in the beans and lentils, drained from their water, and the potatoes to cook for about 15 minutes
  • Add in the courgette and peas to cook for 5 minutes
  • Season with salt
  • With a hand blender blitz a portion of the soup, so it becomes creamier. Leave the rest un-blitzed.
  • Let it cool down a bit before serving
  • Sprinkle some pecorino cheese on top

Buon Appetito!

Is Sardinian Minestrone A Longevity Secret?

The Italian island of Sardinia, one of the world’s Blue Zones, is known for having some of the world’s long-living residents. I spent weeks interviewing locals and learning their traditional recipes while creating my Sardinian cookbook – available here to buy.

From my blue zone research and growing up in Sardinia, minestrone has always been a staple dish. Minestrone even went viral online, when the famous Melis family released their recipe for the best soup for longevity and health.

The Melis family come from the Sardinian village of Perdasdefogu and are holders of the Guinness world record for the oldest combined age of family members.

One surprising discovery was that the Melis family’s longevity soup was cooked with pork fat originally, instead of olive oil. This was because historically olive oil production was limited, there were not many mills around the area, so the favourite condiment before the second world war in Sardinia was lardo (cured pork fat).

FAQ

Why is minestrone soup good for you?

Healthy minestrone soups combine a variety of vegetables and pulses, offering a nutrient-dense option that supports gut health and wellbeing and forms an essential part of the Blue Zone diet.

What is the secret ingredient in minestrone soup?

The secret ingredients for the minestrone soup broth are Pecorino cheese and cannellini beans, to make the soup creamier and more indulgent. A splash of vinegar gives it a sharp taste too. Traditionally people would add fregola pasta too to make it more substantial.

What is the famous soup in the Blue Zone?

Sardinian minestrone soup gained international fame worldwide after being featured in several documentaries about the Blue Zone of Sardinia. This delicious soup is also commonly known around Italy.

Can you eat pasta in the Blue Zone diet?

Pasta is one of the staples of the Blue Zone diet. Sardinia has its own take on pasta with some unique shapes such as Culurgiones, Fregola, Filindeu and Gnocchetti (Read here for more on what is gnocchetti and how you can make this deliciously simple pasta at home). Semolina flour (durum wheat) is the main flour used to make pasta and breads in the region. Many families in the Blue Zone used to farm wheat to make flour for bread and also pasta.

Do Italians eat minestrone every day?

In Sardinia there’s the tendency of cooking large batches of healthy meals to eat throughout the week. Therefore, minestrone would be cooked in large amounts to be eaten over the course of a few days. You wouldn’t eat minestrone every day but a few days a week. For more on traditional Sardinian cuisine, read our article on what to eat in Sardinia.

How to make minestrone soup taste better?

Eating healthy doesn’t have to mean suffering, as so Sardinians enjoy food. To make minestrone soup taste better you can add a few chunks of pancetta, sprinkle some pecorino cheese for extra umami and a splash of vinegar to add a bit of sharpness.