Minestrone Soup

Ingredients

Serves 1

• 1½ tsp olive oil
• ½ onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 stick celery, chopped
• 1 tomato, diced
• 2 tsp tomato purée
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 300ml boiling water
• 80g macaroni or other short pasta
• 50g sweet potato, diced
• 80g tinned borlotti beans or kidney beans, drained
• 80g kale or cabbage, shredded
• 10g parmesan or hard cheese, finely grated

Method

Heat the oil in a deep saucepan, add the onion, carrot and celery and fry gently for 5 minutes until soft. Stir in the tomato and tomato purée, cook for a couple of minutes then crumble in the stock cube. Pour in the boiling water then bring to the boil.

Add the pasta and sweet potato and simmer for for 5 minutes. Add the beans and kale and cook for a further 3-4 minutes until the pasta and sweet potato are cooked through. Pour into a warmed soup bowl, scatter over the parmesan and serve.

• Quick and easy
• Family friendly
• Good for batch cooking
• Good for freezing

Tips

• This recipe is great for batch cooking. Make double or triple the recipe of the sauce (without the parmesan) then divide into portions and freeze some for later use.
• The best way to freeze this dish is to leave it to cool completely then spoon portions into individual freezer bags. Lay on a tray and freeze flat. By freezing it in a flat sheet rather than a solid block (in a deep plastic container) it’ll defrost far more quickly and also take up less freezer space.