Soups and Starters Recipes - Minestrone Recipe

Ingredients

Serve 4

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 onion, diced

• 1 garlic clove, crushed

• 2 celery sticks, chopped

• 1 leek, thinly sliced

• 1 carrot, chopped

• 400 g/13 oz can chopped tomatoes

• 600 ml/1 pint Chicken or Vegetable Stock

• 1 courgette, diced

• 1/2 small cabbage, shredded

• 1 bay leaf

• 75 g/3 oz canned haricot beans

• 75 g/3 oz spaghetti, broken into small pieces

• 1 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley

• salt and pepper

• 50 g/2 oz Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, to serve

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Method:

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the onion, garlic, celery, leek and carrot and fry over a low heat for 3 minutes.

2. Add the tomatoes, stock, courgette, cabbage, bay leaf and haricot beans. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Add the spaghetti and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir well and cook for a further 8 minutes. Keep stirring as the soup may stick to the bottom of the pan.

4. Just before serving, add the chopped parsley and stir well. Serve immediately with grated Parmesan.

Note: Minestrone improves when it is made in advance and reheated. Cover and store in the refrigerator so that the flavors can blend.