Serves 6-8 people
Now winter has arrived nothing beats a great minestrone which I love to serve as a meal in a bowl instead of a soup. It is so healthy, has a great flavor and is wonderful for the whole family to enjoy or even better the whole family and friends 🙂 I like the minestrone soup as it is, quite thick, but if you prefer it a bit more ‘soupy’ than you could add some more stock.
Ingredients
5 tbsp. of olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 red onions, finely chopped
3 sticks of celery, finely chopped
3 carrots, finely diced
1 courgette/zucchini, finely diced
150gr  runner beans, finely diced
1 can/400g of butter beans
2 cans/800gr of chopped tomatoes
90gr of fresh basil: stalks finely chopped and leaves chopped
250gr fresh spinach & ricotta tortellini
1 piece of parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
Preparation
For this soup it is best to use a wide but not very deep pan. A casserole type would be ideal. Heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add the garlic, red onions and celery and gently fry without coloring for about 10 minutes or until softened.
Then add the carrots, runner beans and basil stalks. Cover the ingredients and stir occasionally for about 15 minutes, again gently fry without coloring. Add the cans of chopped tomatoes and courgette/zucchini and simmer for another 10 minutes.
Pour in you vegetable stock, butter beans and tortellini and bring to boil. Once boiling reduce the heat, season with salt and pepper and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the tortellini are tender.
Serve the minestrone in big bowls with chopped basil, Â shaved Parmesan cheese and some ciabatta bread on the side.
Bon Appetite 😉
PS. Graham’s tip: add the rind of the Parmesan cheese into the soup whilst cooking, it adds a super flavor.
I Love Soup 