Minestrone

Read through the recipe and gather the equipment. Use the ingredient lines to prepare and measure everything, staging the vegetables in bowls in the order they go into the pot. Everything is prepared and staged before the pot goes on the heat.

Heat 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil in a 5- to 6-quart pot over medium heat until it flows easily. Add the onion, carrots, celery and 1/4 tsp fine salt. Cook, stirring now and then, until the onion is translucent and the carrots soften at the edges, about 10 minutes.

Add the garlic and stir over medium heat until it smells fragrant. Stir in 2 tbsp tomato paste and keep stirring until it coats the vegetables and darkens a shade, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Stir in the green beans until glossy. Add the diced tomatoes with their juice, about 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth, the Parmesan rind, bay leaf and rosemary sprig, if using, and 1/4 tsp fine salt. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat, then turn to medium-low heat for small, steady bubbles. Set the lid ajar and simmer until a green bean is tender, about 20 minutes.

Stir in the zucchini, cannellini beans and ditalini. Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring often and scraping the bottom so the pasta does not stick, until the pasta is tender with a little bite and the zucchini is soft, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Stir in the kale and keep simmering over medium-low heat until it wilts and turns deep green, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Take the pot off the heat and lift out the Parmesan rind, bay leaf and rosemary stem, if you used them. Taste the soup. Aim for savory, a little sweet from the vegetables and lightly bright from the tomatoes. If it tastes flat, add fine salt to taste and black pepper to taste. If it still tastes dull, squeeze in the juice from the 1/2 whole lemon, if using. The soup tastes savory and balanced.

Ladle the soup into bowls to make 4 servings. Top each bowl with the grated Parmesan, extra-virgin olive oil to taste and black pepper to taste. Refrigerate leftovers promptly in shallow containers. The pasta keeps soaking up broth, so add water as you reheat leftovers to 165°F (74°C), checked with an instant-read thermometer. The soup is portioned and topped.