ITALIAN BEAN SOUP
Serves 6, Ready in 30 Minutes
Similar to minestrone but without the pasta, this is a great dish for when you’re looking for a lighter alternative to a classic soup.
You can always add in a few more beans to bulk this dish out. I love the combination of cannellini beans, borlotti beans and butter beans.
Ingredients
3x Carrots, finely chopped
3x Celery sticks, finely chopped
1x Large onion, finely chopped
3x Garlic cloves, finely chopped
1x Courgette, finely chopped
3 Bay leaves
1 Tablespoon oregano
Small handful of basil
1x Rosemary sprig, leaves removed and finely chopped
1 Teaspoon tomato puree
1x tin (400g) chopped tomatoes
1.5 Litres of vegetable stock
1x tin of cannellini beans (250g drained weight)
Salt & Pepper
METHOD
Heat a little oil in a large saucepan and fry the carrots, celery and onion until soft.
Then add the garlic and courgette, season well and fry to soften for a few minutes.
Add the tomato puree, tinned tomatoes and vegetable stock and reduce to a simmer.
Add the bay leaves, oregano, rosemary and basil (tear this into pieces by hand straight into the pan).
Simmer on a low heat for 10 minutes.
Add the beans and simmer for a further 10 minutes.
Serve with a drizzle of oil and a few basil leaves.