Minestrone

Minestrone is an Italian vegetable soup. Minestrone is often made with various vegetables and legumes, and sometimes with the addition of pasta or rice, and usually has a thick consistency. There is no set recipe for minestrone in Italy. Because it is from the Italian tradition of cucina povera, meaning "poor cuisine", it is traditionally made with whatever vegetables one has. Furthermore, depending on seasonality or the region in Italy, the recipe for minestrone can vary tremendously.
The word minestrone derives from the augmentative form of the word minestra, which means soup.
The correct pronunciation of minestrone in Italian is Mee-neh-stroh-neh. The way the "o" in -stroh is pronounced is like the "o" in the word "story". The most important part of this pronunciation and the part which is most often mispronounced is the end, -neh. English speakers often mispronounce "ne" in Italian as "knee". It is important to pronounce a softer "e" sound that resembles "eh", and not a hard "ee". If you have difficulties pronouncing it correctly, remember that the end, -neh, must be pronounced in the same way you pronounce the second syllable, also transcribed as -neh.

Food and Beverage

Italian