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1
Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat and add the onion, carrot, and celery.
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2
Cook the vegetables gently for 5 to 10 minutes until soft and translucent.
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3
Add the garlic and herbs, season with salt, and cook another few minutes.
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4
Add the liquid and bring to a simmer.
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5
Add the squash, green beans, and chard (or other vegetables in season, such as leeks, fennel, winter squash, kale, cabbage, and potatoes).
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6
Simmer until the vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
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7
Add the cooked shell beans and the tomato and cook for another 5 minutes.
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8
Taste and add salt and more liquid, if needed.
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9
Serve the soup with a drizzle of olive oil and, if you like, a plate of crusty garlic croutons to dip into the broth.
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10
Pass Parmesan at the table.
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11
A classic minestrone includes pasta in the soup (add 1 to 2 cups cooked pasta, such as orzo or orecchiette, to the soup at the end) and is garnished at the table with a generous spoonful of pesto (page 21) added to each bowl.
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12
The pesto gives a pungent garlicky kick to the soup, in which case you wont need the olive oil and cheese of the original recipe as a garnish.
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13
For a winter version of the soup, substitute cubes of winter squash (butternut, Hubbard, pumpkin) for the summer squash and green beans, and use kale in place of the chard.
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14
Use canned or preserved tomatoes in place of the fresh tomatoes, or leave them out.
