Tuesday 21 October 2014

Minestrone Soup

The last of the warm air is trickling away to be replaced by a brisk chill; grey clouds are gathering to shower trees whose leaves are stripped away by quickening gusts of wind:dressing the pavements in varying shades of gold.

Yep, it's definitely Autumn now which means soup is in order. This is my favourite soup, full of Italian flavours and delicious vegetables, that can be a meal in itself or served with warm, soft bread oozing melting butter.


This soup cooks quite quickly, but is fine to slow cook over a longer duration if you want to bring out the flavours more. It works well with loads of different vegetables so have fun trying out your favourites. For meat eaters, a couple of sausages can also be grilled, chopped and thrown in to the pan as well. For the pasta, there's lots of different ones to try. I used small shells in this one, but my favourite are tiny pasta stars as in the photo below.



Minestrone

Packed with veg, pasta and lots of Italian flavours, this hearty soup is perfect for cold evenings. Serve with garlic bread and a sprinkling of grated parmesan or cheddar.

Cake Crumbs & Ink Blots: Minestrone
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

  • Olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 onion, chopped finely
  • 1 reduced salt vegetable stock cube made up with 1 litre boiling water
  • 500g passata
  • 3 cups of vegetables - peas, pepper, carrot, courgette or whatever you fancy!
  • 2 tablespoons parmesan
  • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning/basil/oregano
  • 1/2 cup small soup pasta

Method

  1. Add oil, garlic and onion to large saucepan. Cover with lid and let soften for 5 minutes.
  2. Add stock, passata and vegetables, bring to the boil, then simmer for 10-15 minutes until vegetables are soft. It will seem quite watery at this stage but the pasta will thicken it.
  3. Add the parmesan, seasoning and pasta and continue to simmer until pasta is cooked through. Serve!

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