Minestrone is not a recipe - it is a principle. Italians don't agree on a single rule, except for one: the more ingredients, the more season. In the northern regions they use rice, in the south pasta. In Venice they put in white beans, in Tuscany chickpeas. There are families where minestrone is made without tomato, and families where the tomato is the entire soul. One thing is certain - this soup solves dinner in 50 minutes.

The list is not expensive. You need: 1 courgette, 1 onion, 1 potato, 1 stalk of celery, 1 carrot, 1 tomato, 1 clove of garlic, 1.5 liters of water, 100 g of short pasta, 75 g of peas (from a can), 100 g of cooked white beans, a piece of Parmesan, olive oil, salt. Everything an average Balkan kitchen already has - unless the beans weren't soaked the day before.

The cooking is quiet work. First, sauté the garlic and onion in olive oil - that is the sofrito, the foundation of flavor. No matter how many other ingredients you throw in, if the sofrito is wrong, the soup will be hollow. Italian cooks say: "The sofrito is the heart." Do not skip it.

Then add the root vegetables - carrot, celery, courgette, potato - cut in cubes. Five minutes on low heat. They soften, release their juices. This is the critical moment - not too long, not too short. When the aroma starts, that is your signal. Pour in the water, add salt, cook covered for about 10 minutes. After that, in go the peas and beans - another 2 minutes of simmer. You're done.

Now the two essential tricks. First: cook the pasta separately. If you throw it into the soup, it soaks up the water and the next day you have mush. Put it in the bowl and pour the soup over it. Second: instead of water - use a light vegetable or chicken broth. That is not a luxury, that is the difference between an ordinary and an excellent minestrone.

You finish with grated Parmesan and a few drops of olive oil. Optional: a spoonful of pesto. And that's it - 50 minutes of work, five euros of ingredients, and a result that doesn't depend on the cook's mood. Minestrone doesn't beg for mercy - it works every time.