Minestrone Soup . . . with a mix of healthy vegetables

 

Sharing a recipe by Tom Kerridge. He says this minestrone is perfect for filling your family up with healthy vegetables and helping them towards their five-a-day. It freezes well and makes great leftovers.

This meal when served as six portions provides:-

17g protein, 27g carbohydrate (of which 8.5g sugars), 16.5g fat (of which 7g saturates), 6g fibre and 1.7g salt per portion.

Ingredients
Serves 4 - 6
splash olive oil
200g/7oz streaky bacon or lean back-bacon, rind removed, finely chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
6 celery stalks, trimmed and roughly chopped
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 onions, roughly chopped
2 potatoes, such as Maris Peer potatoes, roughly chopped
1 tbsp tomato purée
400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 bouquet garni 
0.75 litres/1½ pints reduced-salt vegetable stock
3 courgettes/zucchini, trimmed and roughly chopped
1 large handful soup pasta 
To serve
1 handful fresh flatleaf parsley, leaves finely chopped
100g/3½oz Parmesan Cheese, finely grated

Method
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the bacon and fry for 2-3 minutes, or until cooked and starting to brown.

2. Add the carrots, celery, garlic and onions and fry for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. Add the potatoes and fry for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.

3. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for 1 minute, then add the tomatoes, bouquet garni and stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, then simmer gently for 30 minutes.

4. Add the courgettes and soup pasta and return to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover the pan with the lid, then simmer for 5-8 minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Discard the bouquet garni.

5. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls, then sprinkle over the parsley and Parmesan.

Recipe Tips

1: Soup pasta shapes were created with a variety of soups in mind. They are smaller than your normal pasta allowing them to act as an ingredient in the soup rather than soaking up all the broth.

Read more here

2: As this soup is ideal for using up any odds and ends of pasta you can just place it all in a food bag and bash with a rolling pin until roughly the same size.

3: You can use this recipe as a base for any soup - vegetables that are in season are usually the cheapest and tastiest.

4: A bouquet garni is a bunch of fresh herbs – 1 sprig of rosemary, 1 fresh bay leaf, and 1 sprig of thyme, tied together with cooking string. It can be bought ready-made.

5: Make up a big batch of soup, even if you’re only cooking for yourself – the rest can be chilled in the fridge or frozen in portions for future meals.

6: Step by step video guide for this recipe is here

~ wishing you a happy day ~

image from google

You will find a variety of recipe ideas within this blog, not all may be suitable for you. Always take account of your personal circumstances, needs, illnesses and medication you may be taking. Any allergies, or underlying health issues must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic (more about this here) and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter. If you have any concerns about your health it is always advisable to consult your Doctor or health care team.

All the best Jan