Gordon Ramsay’s minestrone soup is a rustic Italian bowl of borlotti beans, carrots, celery, onion, smoked bacon and cherry tomatoes in chicken stock, with broken spaghetti, basil and Parmesan. It serves four and takes about 40 minutes in one large pan.
In Healthy Appetite (2008) the photo page sells it as “high in fibre and healthy carbs, yet low in fat”, and a little trimmed back bacon is the only meat. The dish goes back further for him, too, since the soup chapter of Kitchen Heaven remembers his mum’s “big steaming bowls of minestrone” turning into a main meal with crusty bread.
Give the onion, carrot and celery their full 6 to 8 minutes before the bacon and tomato paste go in, so the base is soft and sweet. His Kitchen Heaven minestrone points out that the pasta starch is what thickens the soup, so don’t worry if it looks thin before the spaghetti goes in. You’ll end up with a thick, brick-red bowl of soft beans and vegetables, with green ribbons of basil and a dusting of Parmesan on top.
Gordon Ramsay’s Borlotti Bean Minestrone
Course: SoupsCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy4
15
minutes25
420
kcalBorlotti beans, cherry tomatoes and vegetables simmered with smoked bacon, thyme and broken spaghetti, from Healthy Appetite, page 67. It serves 4.
Ingredients
- For the soup:
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus a little extra to drizzle (optional)
2 onions, peeled and chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk, trimmed and chopped
sea salt and black pepper
a few thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
about 3 ounces (80 g) smoked back bacon, trimmed of fat and chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 (14-ounce / 400 g) cans borlotti beans, rinsed and drained
5 ounces (150 g) cherry tomatoes, halved
2½ to 3¼ cups (600 to 800 ml) chicken stock or water
2¾ ounces (75 g) spaghetti, broken into small pieces
a large handful of basil, finely shredded
Parmesan, for grating (optional)
rustic country bread
Directions
- Soften: Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onions, carrots, celery and some seasoning. Stir often over medium-high heat for 6 to 8 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften.
- Bacon: Add the thyme, bay leaf and bacon, turn the heat up slightly and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute more.
- Simmer: Tip in the beans and cherry tomatoes, pour in enough stock or water to cover, and bring to a gentle simmer.
- Pasta: Add the spaghetti and cook for 10 minutes, then taste and adjust the seasoning.
- Serve: Ladle into warm bowls and scatter over the basil. Add a light drizzle of olive oil and a little grated Parmesan if you like, and serve with chunks of bread.
Notes
- Borlotti beans are sold in the US as cranberry beans, and canned cannellini or pinto beans are the easiest swap, which is my own call.
- Back bacon is the lean British cut. Canadian bacon or trimmed center-cut bacon is the closest match.
- Fish out the bay leaf and thyme stalks before you ladle it out.
- The spaghetti keeps drinking the broth as it sits, so add a splash of stock or water when you reheat leftovers, and bring them back to a boil.
FAQs
Can I use dried borlotti beans?
Yes, though the book uses two cans to save time. Soak about 1 cup (200 g) of dried beans overnight, then simmer them in fresh water until tender before step 3, which is my own conversion.
Keep them at a gentle simmer, since a hard boil splits the skins. Then drain them well and add them exactly where the canned ones go.
How do I make it vegetarian?
Leave out the bacon and use water instead of chicken stock, since the book already gives water as an option. A pinch of smoked paprika with the tomato paste brings back some of that smoky edge, which is my own trick.
Check the Parmesan too, because traditional Parmesan is made with animal rennet. A vegetarian hard cheese, or simply more basil and olive oil, keeps it fully meat-free.
How is it different from his Kitchen Heaven minestrone?
His Kitchen Heaven (2004) version is bigger and greener, with pancetta, swede (rutabaga), leek, Savoy cabbage and snow peas in 2 liters of stock. It finishes with a spoonful of pesto on each bowl.
It also has his trick for breaking spaghetti. He rolls it up in a clean dish towel, holds both ends and runs it over the table edge, so it snaps into small even pieces.
What other minestrones has he made?
His Christmas with Gordon (2010) winter minestrone uses parsnips, swede, fennel and potato in leftover ham stock, served with a walnut pesto. It’s a good one after the holidays, just like his pea and ham soup made with leftover ham.
His Fast Food book has a quick minestrone too, with potato, kohlrabi and Savoy cabbage simmered in water from the kettle. The spaghetti and cabbage need only about 8 minutes in that one.
Is it really low in fat?
Yes, for a soup this filling, since the only fat is 2 tablespoons of olive oil plus some trimmed bacon shared between four bowls. Most of each bowl is beans and vegetables, which is where the book’s fibre and healthy carbs come from.
To keep it lighter, skip the extra olive oil and use the Parmesan sparingly, as the book itself suggests. The beans and vegetables still make it a full meal with a slice of bread.
Zaytouna Studio Team is the kitchen team behind Chef Ramsay Recipes. We cook Gordon Ramsay’s recipes from his cookbooks and videos in a home kitchen and write them up for yours, with US and metric measurements.