Name: Menestrón peruano — green beef and vegetable soup
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 95 min
Total time: 120 min
Cuisine: Peruvian cuisine
Ingredients: 500 g boneless beef chuck — cut into 3 cm cubes; 1500 ml water — for the broth; 80 g red onion — diced; 10 g garlic — minced; 20 ml neutral oil — for sautéing; 200 g potato — peeled and cubed; 180 g pumpkin or zapallo squash — peeled and cubed; 140 g carrot — diced; 140 g cooked white beans — drained; 120 g green peas — thawed if frozen; 90 g short dry pasta (canuto) — small tubes; 6 g fine salt — for broth; 70 g fresh basil leaves — rinsed; 80 g spinach leaves — rinsed; 35 g Parmesan — finely grated

Menestrón peruano — green beef and vegetable soup

Yield 5 generous bowls

Prep 25 minutes

Cook 95 minutes

Passive 0 minutes

Total 120 minutes

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Menestrón peruano — green beef and vegetable soup

Menestrón peruano is recognisably related to Italian minestrone yet has a local character. Beef gives body to the broth, and basil with spinach creates its green flavour and appearance. The result is a main-dish soup, not a lightly dressed vegetable broth.

Cooked beans, pasta, potato, squash and carrots each thicken or sweeten the soup differently. Adding them in the right order avoids both hard roots and overcooked noodles. The beans go in already tender so the beef can cook without a long additional bean simmer.

The green mixture is blended with a little hot broth near the end. This spreads the herbs evenly without reducing them to tired leaf fragments. A small amount of Parmesan gives savouriness, but the soup should still taste predominantly of the herb-rich broth and vegetables.

Ingredients

Broth and vegetables

500 g boneless beef chuck — cut into 3 cm cubes
1500 ml water — for the broth
80 g red onion — diced
10 g garlic — minced
20 ml neutral oil — for sautéing
200 g potato — peeled and cubed
180 g pumpkin or zapallo squash — peeled and cubed
140 g carrot — diced
140 g cooked white beans — drained
120 g green peas — thawed if frozen
90 g short dry pasta (canuto) — small tubes
6 g fine salt — for broth

Herb finish

70 g fresh basil leaves — rinsed
80 g spinach leaves — rinsed
35 g Parmesan — finely grated

Method

Start the beef broth.Heat the oil in a large pot at medium heat and cook the onion for 5 minutes. Add garlic and beef, turning the cubes for a further 6 minutes. Time: 11 minutes. Readiness: Onion is soft and the beef surfaces have firmed without blackened edges.
Simmer the beef.Pour in 1500 ml water, bring to a simmer, skim foam and partly cover. Simmer the beef gently for 50 minutes. Time: 50 minutes. Readiness: The beef yields to the point of a fork but has not fallen into shreds. Keep the stew at a continuous simmer rather than relying on colour to judge doneness.
Add the vegetables.Stir in the potato, squash, carrot and 6 g salt; simmer 14 minutes, then add cooked white beans and peas. Time: 14 minutes. Readiness: Potato is almost tender and beans remain intact.
Cook the pasta.Add the short pasta and cook 10 minutes, stirring once or twice so it cannot settle on the pot bottom. Time: 10 minutes. Readiness: Pasta is tender with a slight bite, and the broth coats a spoon lightly.
Blend the green finish.Take 150 ml broth from the same pot into a heat-safe jug. Blend the basil and spinach with it until smooth; keep the blender loosely vented for steam. Time: 5 minutes. Readiness: The herb mixture is evenly green without large leaf pieces. Vent and cool hot liquid slightly before blending to prevent pressure burns.
Finish the menestrón.Stir the green purée into the pot, heat gently for 5 minutes and sprinkle in Parmesan. Ladle into warm bowls. Time: 5 minutes. Readiness: The broth is green and fragrant, the meat fork-tender and the pasta holds its shape.

Practical

Practical guidance

The soup thickens as the pasta rests. For planned leftovers, remove the portion for storage before the pasta becomes soft and reheat gently with no more than the reserved cooking liquid if available. Cool in shallow containers and refrigerate within 2 hours at 4 °C or colder, for up to 3–4 days. Reheat leftovers to 74 °C. Do not leave a large covered stockpot to cool slowly on the stove.

Substitutions and effects

Fresh cooked pallares for white beans: Changes the bean texture and cooking preparation; use fully tender beans and preserve the same edible weight.

Control points

Broth becomes glueyPasta stayed in the hot pot for too long; serve when the tubes still have a little resistance.
Herb flavour fadesThe green purée boiled hard; add it near the end and warm just enough to combine.

Nutrition per serving

Serving size1 of 5 bowls
Calories438 kcal
Carbohydrate38.2 g
Protein33.6 g
Fat16.4 g
Fibre6.7 g
Sodium692 mg

Allergens and food safety

Milk (Parmesan). Wheat (dry pasta); check commercially bought pasta for egg ingredients. Cook beef through in a continuously simmering broth; use good refrigerated meat-handling practice. Refrigerate the cooked soup within 2 hours and reheat leftover portions to 74 °C; avoid cooling a deep filled pot at room temperature.

Closing

Result: Peruvian menestrón combines beef, pasta, beans and vegetables with a blended basil-spinach finish in a substantial green broth.
Key control: The green mixture is blended with a little hot broth near the end.