Original Recipe: Classic Minestrone Soup (v)

Wednesday 28th February 2018.

Built to last.

An old family recipe. This is the food she grew up eating. Packed with beautiful, fresh vegetables it's a great way to pile a glut of essential vitamins and minerals into your diet. If you needed any proof look no further than my grandmother. 96 years old and she has more energy than anyone half her age.

Arctic winds. One of the coldest winters I can remember. Not all that different to wintertime in Iceland that I experienced on my travels. This recipe was made for snowy days like these. No need to go out and shop for specific ingredients, just creating something delicious with what you have lying around. This type of cooking often makes the best kind of meals.

You'll need:

- 2 large carrots

- 2 medium courgettes

- 3 sticks celery

- 1 large leek

- 125g piccolo/cherry tomatoes

- 3 large cloves garlic

- 2 medium red onions

- 1.5L vegetable stock

- 3 tbsp tomato puree

- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

- 1 tbsp dried oregano

- 2 bay leaves

- 125g small pasta (conchigliette or ditaloni regatta work, or even spaghetti broken up)

- 150g frozen peas

- 100g kale or Savoy cabbage

- Parmesan rind (optional)

- Sea salt & cracked black pepper

(Serves 4)

Method

1. First, prepare the vegetables. This is time consuming but well worth it, especially if you're making a big batch to freeze for a later date. Top and tail the carrots, cut in half lengthways, and then in half again before chopping into small cubes. Do the same with the leeks (ensuring you wash any dirt/sand out from the centre), and the courgettes. Place all the veg into a large bowl. Top and tail the celery and slice into bite size pieces. Half the tomatoes, add to the bowl before finally peeling and thinly slicing your garlic and adding that too.

2. Peel the onions and finely dice. Put 3 tbsp of flavourless oil into a large, heavy based saucepan. Add the onion as well as a large pinch of salt and place over a medium-low heat for around 10 minutes until the onions become soft and translucent, making sure you stir regularly.

3. Once the onions are soft, turn the heat up slightly and add all of your prepared vegetables. Give everything a goof stir and soften, covered, for around 10 minutes, stirring regularly.

4. Add the stock, tomato puree, herbs and sugar to the softened vegetables and bring to the boil. Then add the pasta and parmesan rind and simmer until the pasta is just cooked (check packet instructions).

5. Add the frozen peas and kale to the pan and simmer for a further 2-3 minutes. You don't want to lose that vivid green.

6. Remove the parmesan rind, season with a little salt and lots of freshly ground pepper and serve with extra grated parmesan. (Freezes well, use within one month).