Authentic Italian Minestrone Soup

Authentic Italian soup made the plant based way!

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 35

Course lunch, Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 6

Calories 400 kcal

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
5 cloves garlic crushed
3 sticks celery chopped
3 carrots chopped
3 courgette chopped
2 large tomatoes chopped
2 400g can tinned tomatoes or, 3 cans if not using fresh tomatoes
300 g green beans chopped into inch long lengths
5 tbsp tomato paste
1 can kidney beans
1 can cannellini beans
250 g pasta of your choice small and wholegrain is preferable
2-3 handfuls of fresh spinach OR Swiss chard
1 red bell pepper
2 bay leaves
1-2 tbsp each of oregano basil, marjoram, rosemary OR Italian spice mix.
1.4 litres of vegetable stock you can use either homemade stock or dried bouillon

Cut your carrots, onions, courgette, pepper, celery, tomatoes and green beans into small pieces.
In a little of the olive oil, fry your onions for a few minutes until softened (do not let them brown as this will affect the taste negatively).
Add your celery, courgette, carrots and green beans, along with the crushed garlic and fry for about 5 minutes (add small amounts of hot water if it starts to stick, especially if you are making an oil-free version)
Add the tomato paste, season with salt and pepper and fry everything over for another 3 minutes to deglase (don't worry if the bottom of the pan gets a light brown crust. This is a good thing and helps bring out the authentic taste).
Add the vegetable stock and tinned tomatoes and simmer for 5 more minutes.
Now add your tinned pulses and pasta (if your pasta takes longer than 10 minutes to cook, then add it in the previous step).
Add your chopped spinach of Swiss chard, herbs and spices to taste (if using fresh herbs, then add them at the end of cooking time).
Simmer for another minute until spinach has wilted.
Stir in the rest of your good quality olive oil (we add this right at the end so as to not over-heat it and lose the delicate nutrition of the oil). If you are not using extra virgin oilve oil, then you won't have to worry about this so much as it can take the heat better).
Check flavours and consistency. If the soup is too runny, then add more tomato paste to thicken. If it's too thick, add more broth.

Serve with some delicious and fresh, crusty bread. Or serve alone for a lower carb version.

Keyword batch cook, healthy