Minestrone Soup Recipe

Submitted by mumofstig

Initial ingredients for Minestrone Soup:

• Couple of rashers of bacon chopped (or any left over meat you have)
• Finely chopped onion/shallots/last few grotty spring onions
• Couple cloves of garlic
• Little chopped celery, lovage or fennel.

Method and further ingredients Minestrone Soup:

1. Fry the above together very gently in a little oil and a knob of butter/butter type margarine.
2. When softened, add 2 diced carrots and about the same quantity of diced swede/turnip/kohl rabbi and a  potato chopped (a dodgy one from store?, cleaned up).
3. Then add some of those tomatoes that are still ripening, chopped or tablespoon of tomato paste, small piece of chopped chilli pepper (make it as hot as you like), piece of rosemary, thyme and basil (tied up with a bit of string for easy removal) along with some runner bean seeds or borlotti or cheapest tin baked beans you can find.
4. If you have a heel of hard cheese add this as well, it really adds a depth of flavour, but fish out before serving.
5. Add enough water to cover plus an inch or so, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to boil, then simmer.
6. When veg are softened, add some left over pasta chopped up, or small pasta shapes
7. Add  4/5 outside leaves of cabbage or kale, cut in about 1 in pieces, carry on cooking till pasta is ready, adding more water if pasta is absorbing a lot. But should be a thick soup with not much free liquid. Remove herbs and taste.
8. Season again if required. (The batch I made today needed nothing else added but according to veg used you may need to add a stock cube or 2 for extra flavour).

I have divided this into 8 generous portions, 1 is for supper the others to freeze
Only takes a few minutes in the microwave to defrost and heat through

Traditionally served with grated cheese on top