Recipe: A Winter Warmer!

…it’s freezing outside. You’ve got a cold. What do you need?

Minestrone Soup

Credit to Anna at: https://annasfamilykitchen.com

A note from Anna: “A hearty bowl of health, this soup is filling enough to have as an evening meal and is ready in less than 20 minutes. Make a large batch – it’ll keep in the fridge for a few days and reheated is a healthy lunch. I’ve topped my soup with crispy bacon but that’s an optional extra! It adds a rich saltiness to the dish but it’s still good without. To save on chopping and time I whizzed all the vegetables apart from the cabbage and potatoes in a food processor.”

Serves: 4

Prep: 5 minutes
Cooking: 15 minutes
Total: 20 minutes

Difficulty: easy

Ingredients

1 onion
2 carrots
2 celery sticks
1 leek
2 garlic cloves
1 can chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato purée
2 potatoes peeled and cubed
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 can (400g) cannelini beans
1 can (400g) black eyed beans
100g spaghetti snapped into pieces
1.5l vegetable or chicken stock
1/2 Savoy cabbage, shredded
4 rashers bacon cut into strips (optional)
Basil leaves and toasted ciabatta to serve

Whizz together or finely chop the carrots, onion, celery, leek and garlic.

Add 2 tbsp olive oil to a hot pan and add the veggie pulp. Colour for a couple of minutes before adding the potato.

Season, add all the remaining ingredients except the bacon and cabbage. Simmer for 15 minutes.

If using bacon, dry fry it in a pan until crisp.

Add the shredded cabbage to the soup, simmer for 2-3 minutes, check for seasoning, and serve with the bacon pieces on top.