Homemade Minestrone Soup
Now, let’s be honest, we’ve all opened up a tin of minestrone soup in the past, heated it up and eaten it, thinking “it’s was ok, it filled a hole”. And to be fair, it probably was and it probably did. But what about making your own? What would that be like? Well, to be truthful, it is a step change!! It tastes nothing like the tinned stuff, it is a whole different proposition. It is delicious, it is hearty, it is good for you and, most importantly, once you’ve made it you’ll never open another tin!! It doesn’t take long to cook either. Although there are only two of us, we make the full quantity for 8 people and either have some for a second or third day lunch or freeze it in batches for two. If you do freeze it though, you will need to defrost it in the fridge overnight before re-heating. And, if you want to turn this into a hearty and warming mid-week meal, just enjoy with crusty bread and it’ll be perfect!
Homemade Minestrone Soup
Equipment
- 1 Heavy Based Saucepan or Casserole Dish
Ingredients
- 1 medium White Onion finely chopped
- 2 stalks Celery finely chopped
- 2 medium Carrots finely chopped
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil old slag, save the extra virgin for salads
- 2 large Cloves of Garlic grated or very finely chopped
- 200 g French Beans finely chopped
- 800 g Tomatoes canned chopped tomatoes are best (i.e. two cans)
- 400 g Haricot Beans or any white bean – we tend to buy jars which we prefer
- 500 ml Vegetable Stock stock pots are fine if you don't want to make it!
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1 tsp Dried Oregano
- ¾ tsp Dried Thyme
- 150 g Pasta any small pasta will work, we used macaroni because we had it
- 1 pinch Chilli Flakes
- Parmesan Cheese to serve
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a heavy based pan that has a lid and, when hot, add the onion, celery and carrots with a good pinch of salt and pepper (called a soffritto in Italy). Fry for about 10 minutes until the vegetables have started to soften
- When the vegetables have started to soften, add the garlic, french beans, haricot beans, tomatoes, bay leaves, oregano, thyme, chilli flakes and vegetable stock. Give the soup a quick stir and then put a lid on it and simmer it for 20 minutes
- After 20 minutes of simmering, remove the lid and add the pasta. Stir it in and cook for a further 10 minutes uncovered until the pasta is cooked
- Serve with grated parmesan cheese over the top and enjoy!