Italian · Authentic-ish Italian
Minestrone
345 kcal a serving, against 392 for the traditional version. That is 47 kcal off, or 12%, with 20.1g of protein. Serves 6. 1 hour.
What the traditional version is
A thick, rich vegetable soup bulked out with short pasta and cannellini beans, slow cooked until everything breaks down, then finished with a heavy pour of olive oil and a mountain of grated parmesan.
What changed, and what each change costs
60g of olive oil down to 15g
Olive oil isn't the enemy, but 60g in a soup adds over 500 calories of pure fat. Most of that goes right on top at the end just for looks.
What it costs you. You lose that slick, luxurious mouthfeel that makes proper Italian soups taste like a restaurant dish. The broth feels slightly thinner on the tongue.
400g of tinned cannellini beans up to 800g
This is a bean stew. Nobody is going to mistake it for just a vegetable broth. Doubling the beans gives you a massive hit of fibre and protein to fill the gap left by the missing oil and pasta.
What it costs you. It makes the soup much thicker and a bit more rustic. You have to mash half the beans to keep the texture right, so the soup goes cloudy.
150g of dried pasta down to 100g
You don't need a massive bowl of pasta in here. A smaller handful still gives you something to bite on without crowding out the beans and the root vegetables.
What it costs you. It feels slightly less like a main meal and more like a starter, until you realise how heavy 800g of beans really is.
60g of parmesan down to 30g
Parmesan is brilliant, but grating a mountain of it on top just hides the flavour of the courgette and celery.
What it costs you. You miss the big, salty punch at the end. You'll need to season the soup a bit more aggressively with salt to compensate.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 392 | 345 |
| Protein | 18g | 20.1g |
| Fat | 16.2g | 8.4g |
| Saturated fat | 3.7g | 2.1g |
| Carbohydrate | 44.8g | 49g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 4.6g | 5.8g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Italian prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
Allergens. gluten, milk, celery.
The method is in the book
This tastes exactly like a proper Italian minestrone, just a fraction less slick with fat. By doubling the beans and cutting back on the oil and pasta, you get a bowl that keeps you full for hours. It's thick, comforting and ridiculously cheap to make on a cold night. You won't miss the extra oil once you're halfway down the bowl, and the double hit of beans gives it a superb rustic texture.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Italian, along with 59 more. It is not out yet. The swap kit is free in the meantime.