Minestrone Soup for all ages

Soup might not seem like the most summery recipe but with a drizzle of olive oil, this really hit the spot, especially when the weather is less than you'd hope for.

Minestrone Soup - Makes enough for one adult and one child with leftovers, freezes well.

Ingredients

1 onion, finely chopped
2 tsp olive oil
1 courgette (zucchini) finely chopped
1 rib of celery, finely chopped
1-2 carrots, finely chopped
180g, 6.5oz Smoked bacon
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tin borlotti beans (120g, 4oz drained weight)
45g, 1.5oz small pasta shapes - I used alphabet shapes because I thought they were cute
1 tbsp fresh parsley
1 large fresh tomato, chopped
1 tsp pesto
Olive oil and grated cheese to serve (optional)

Method

Gently fry the onion in the oil for a couple of minutes.  Add the courgette and carrots and fry for a couple more minutes.  Add the garlic, celery and chopped bacon and fry until the bacon is looking cooked and the onion is translucent.

Add 650ml, just over a pint, of boiling water and the borlotti beans.  Simmer for 5 minutes or until the carrot is almost cooked.  Add in the pasta and tomato and boil until the pasta is cooked, this will depend on the pasta type so be guided by the pack.  Mine took 4-5 minutes.

Add the pesto, stirring in and serve with chopped parsley and cheese sprinkled on top if liked.  A lovely summery soup!

If you like this, you might like my lovely Moroccan soup too!

Or why not try this lovely chowder?