Minestra International And Wings

Hello, chefs! 😋

Cooking hasn't been a priority for me lately, so I haven't posted much here. But now I have a new dish and not only that! 😁 This dish is my invention :)

Minestra is a strong vegetable soup, usually made from spring ingredients, cooked with fresh vegetables picked directly from the garden.
There are no special rules here. In the pot goes whatever we have on hand at the time.

My idea is, the adjective 'International' because I cook this with more winter vegetables and added some ingredients that grandparents, but also our parents, didn't know.
It's sweet potatoes, rice noodles, and Indian spices. In the minestra, there's usually some small Italian pasta such as farfalline or tempestine.

What all did I use to cook the minestra?

one thick potato
half a leek
half a celeriac
a few carrots
half an onion
a couple of cloves of garlic
a small head of red cabbage
one piece of broccoli
a couple of pieces of cauliflower with leaves
two tablespoons of olive oil
for the spices, I used thyme, ground cumin and Indian Garam Masala, and of course salt and pepper.

😋 📷 😋

I'll also offer baked chicken wings alongside the minestra. Not much work here.
First, marinate the wings briefly with dried and ground red pepper, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Although it's not necessary, I add a teaspoon of olive oil for flavor.

😋 📷 😋

And then I put them in a warm-air oven for about 15 minutes at 200 degrees. This is subjective, from my own experience, we have had this oven for the last two years and it has become a must-have for some wings or baked fries. Maybe a different oven uses different settings, you have to try.

😋 📷 😋

The most work (and the most time) is washing all the ingredients and cutting them into roughly equal pieces. I've compressed this whole process into one animated gif.

😋 📷 😋

The wings are baking and all the other ingredients are cut into pieces and ready for cooking.

😋 📷 😋

Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a large pot, heat it very hot and add the ingredients. First the onion, leek, carrot, celery, and garlic. Stir to prevent burning and fry for a few minutes.

😋 📷 😋

After a few minutes of frying and stirring, pour in 1.5 liters of water. A soup base would be even better, but I don't have one at the moment. Season with salt and pepper if desired.
And then, add the rest of the vegetables, i.e. broccoli and cauliflower. Let the minestra cook slowly over moderate heat to boiling off some of the water.

😋 📷 😋

What happens to chicken wings?
The oven beeps, which means that 15 minutes have passed and the wings should be cooked. Let's see.

The chicken wings look and smell delicious. Let them rest for a while.

😋 📷 😋

In the meantime, we'll boil water in another pot and the rice noodles will be ready in three minutes. When they are soft, rinse them with cold water to prevent them from sticking.

Lunch is ready! 😋
It took over thirty minutes, fifteen of which were just on cutting the vegetables. Maybe I should get a slicer and it would go even faster?

Now we just have to serve it on plates and yumi!