Minestrone Soup to Live to 100

The Melis family of Sardinia, Italy, is known to toast with the exclamation, “Akentannos!”, which translates to "May you live to 100!”. Perhaps the oldest family in the world, the nine Melis siblings all expect to live to over 100. They partially credit their longevity to eating minestrone soup every day of their lives.

Minestrone soup is an epic mix of fiber-rich beans & veggies and antioxidant-rich herbs. You can use almost any mix of sturdy vegetables, herbs, and beans. The recipe below is my version of the Melis family Minestrone Soup using ingredients from an organic grocery store. I was nervous about using fresh fennel for the first time but it doesn’t give the dish a licorice flavor and acts more like celery.

Minestrone Soup to Live to 100 Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 small onions, chopped

• 3 celery stalks, chopped

• Large piece of fresh Turmeric, minced or grated

• 1 head of garlic, minced

• 1 pound potatoes, cut into bite-size

• 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes, NOT drained (I like fire-roasted)

• 1 cup chopped fennel (including stalks, fronds, and bulb)

• 1/4 bunch of Italian parsley, chopped

• 1 small bunch fresh Basil, chopped

• 15-ounce can of Butter beans or Fava beans, rinsed & drained

• 15-ounce can of Cranberry beans or Red kidney beans, rinsed & drained

• half a 15-ounce can of Chickpeas, rinsed & drained

• Water

• Salt

• Optional Sourdough Bread for serving

Chop your veggies while you think of something nice. Don’t bother getting your veggies dry after you rinse them because everything is going into water at the end of this.

Do drain and rinse your beans well. Rinsing your beans reducing their fart-producing powers.

Use a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, onions, carrots, and turmeric. Stir often until they begin to soften (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and cook another 30 seconds.

Add the tomatoes (with their juices), potatoes, fennel, parsley, basil, beans, and chickpeas. Cover everything in water until there’s about an 1” of water on top of the veggies. Stir. Add 1-2 teaspoons of salt. Stir.

Bring soup to boil over high heat. Then simmer over low heat until the veggies are tender. Add salt to taste.

Serve with sourdough bread and high-quality olive oil.

That’s it!

It’s epically delicious. Freeze leftover soup in small canning jars.

Send me a pic if you make the minestrone. I want to know your soup turned out.

P.S. Here’s how I’m stocking my fridge to live to 100.