Anna's Family Kitchen was inspired by my love of food and desire to feed my family healthy, home cooked wholesome meals that are beautifully presented and appealing but don’t require hours of prep in the kitchen.
Minestrone Soup
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. I always make this soup with veg stock so that Mia can eat it. 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.
