Minestrone, Almost Traditional

Hello, Chefs!😋

Today, I will present, or rather, prepare a traditional dish from our region, which originated in Italy and spread to Slovenia and Croatia, specifically to Istria, Primorje, and Dalmatia. We call it "mineštra" or "minestrone."

It's a vegetable stew made from spring and summer vegetables, perfect for clearing out the refrigerator. Here, we put vegetables straight from the garden or field into the pot in the summer.

It's prepared differently in every region or even village. It can be completely vegetarian, but in classic versions, pancetta is a must. In most versions, including ours, some pasta is added, while in some places it is cooked with rice.
My nona (grandmother) always prepared it at least twice a week, in a large pot that was enough for at least ten people, and it was eaten for lunch, then for dinner, or even the next day.
It tastes even better when it has had time to stand.

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The homemade version follows tradition, but I have added a few ingredients that are not commonly used in our region.
This recipe serves six to eight people, depending on the amount of water used.

two medium-sized sweet potatoes (instead of regular potatoes)
two medium-sized carrots
one yellow bell pepper (other colors are also acceptable)
one tomato
one onion
two stalks of celery
one cup of peas, approximately 100 grams, freshly picked
400 grams of cooked chickpeas from a can
cheese for grilling
100 grams of smoked bacon
egg noodles with turmeric
salt and pepper to taste
a tablespoon of ground cayenne pepper
a tablespoon of dried oregano
three tablespoons of olive oil
a liter or two of water

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First, wash the vegetables and cut them into medium-sized pieces, including the slices of smoked bacon.

Now it's ready to cook. I reminded myself that I could add a spoonful of tomato paste and a spoonful of garlic paste to enhance the flavor even more. And a couple of sprigs of parsley. So, here it is.

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Add a tablespoon of oil to the pot and heat it. Then add the pieces of smoked bacon. (If you want a vegetarian version, skip the bacon or pancetta.) Add the onion and stir. If the heat seems too high, reduce it. Continue to simmer and add the vegetables. Add the carrots, greens, peppers, and tomatoes one by one. Fry and stir for a minute or more, then add the parsley, a tablespoon of tomato and garlic paste, and a tablespoon of cayenne pepper and oregano.
Then add half a liter of water or more. When the water boils, add the raw peas. Cook everything together for a few minutes without a lid so that half of the water evaporates and the vegetables soften a little.

Towards the end, add the chopped sweet potatoes.

Add another half liter of water and let it boil for a few minutes to soften the potatoes.

Cover the pot and reduce the heat to a minimum to let everything rest.

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If I had Italian pasta, I would have cooked it together with the minestrone. But since I had some Asian noodles with turmeric, I decided to follow the instructions. I boiled some water, added 100 grams of noodles to the boiling water, and waited four minutes.

While waiting for the pasta, I opened a can of cooked chickpeas, rinsed them, and added them to the minestrone.

The pasta had also softened, so I added it to the minestrone.

The dish is complete, just one more addition - grilled cheese.
I didn't put it on the grill or in a pan, but just heated it in the microwave for a minute.