Cozy Recipes: Minestrone Soup

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Georgia Shepherd shares her tried-and-tested recipe to warm our cockles this autumn

Minestrone is the classic soup for a cold winters day. It’s filling, chunky and full of nutritious goodness. Once you’ve added the beans and pasta, it’s basically a meal in a bowl. Having a day on campus? Take a flask of minestrone and it will keep you powered for the rest of the day.

Serves: 4 – 6

Ingredients

• 1and half tbsp of olive oil (extra virgin if you have it)
• 1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped (or use a garlic press if you are lucky enough to have one)
• 1 leek, washed and sliced into thin rings
• 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into 1cm dice
• 3 rashers of smoked bacon, cut into 1cm strips
• 2 x 400g cans chopped or peeled tomatoes
• 400g can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 100g kale chopped into small pieces, with any tough bits removed
• 100g spinach
• 150g small dried pasta shapes (Be careful not to add anymore as you are at risk of making pasta and sauce)
• 2 finely chopped red chillies (optional)
• 1.4 litres hot chicken stock
• Salt and pepper
• Grated parmesan to serve (optional)

You will need

• Large saucepan (use a wok if not)
• Chopping board
• Sharp knife
• Mixing spoon

Method

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, garlic, chillies and leek and allow to cook over a medium heat for around 10 minutes until softened and the onion is slightly translucent
• Add the carrot, courgette and bacon and cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring continuously
• Add the tomatoes, beans, spinach and kale, stir well
• Next, add the pasta shapes, hot stock, salt and pepper. Stir and allow to simmer for 45 minutes, covered with a lid before serving.

Useful bits

• I’d recommend serving with a nice crusty roll to mop up the soup!
• Any leftovers can kept in the fridge for 2 -3 days or once cooled, frozen or individual portions in freezers

Alternative Tuscan vegetable soup

• To make a delicious Tuscan vegetable soup, simply follow the above recipe, omitting the bacon, beans and pasta. Use vegetable stock instead of chicken to make it suitable for vegetarians.