Truly Yummy Minestrone Soup
I’m always on the hunt to stir things up for lunch. I came across this soup recipe which is not only quick and easy to prepare but by simply switching the pasta to gluten free, not only does it taste truly yummy, it’s gluten free and dairy free. Simply remove the bacon if you’re looking for a Vegetarian or Vegan option. Finally, I like to serve it with a spoonful or two of my Truly Yummy Pesto yum!
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Truly Yummy Minestrone
Gluten free and dairy free minestrone soup. Recommended ingredients Belazu Early Harvest olive oil, 2 bacon chops, 2 garlic cloves, 3 fresh bay leaves, 2 small onions, 4 celery stalks, 3 carrots, 1/4 savoy cabbage, 4 stalks of kale, tin of borlotti beans, tin of butter beans, tin of Mutti plum tomatoes, 1 Knorr vegetable stock pot, 100g Barilla / Rummo gluten free spaghetti
Equipment
- 1 large pan – ideally a cast iron casserole pan
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 bacon chops, diced or one pack of chopped bacon or finely slice 4 rashers of streaky bacon smoked or unsmoked
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 fresh bay leaves
- 2 small onions, diced
- 4 celery stalks, diced
- 3-4 carrots, diced
- 1/4 white cabbage, finely chopped or shredded either savoy or spring
- 4 stalks of kale, finely chopped or shredded
- 400 g tin of borlotti beans in water
- 400 g tin of butter beans in water or cannellini beans
- 400 g plum or chopped tomatoes recommend Mutti plum tomatoes
- 1 vegetable stock pot recommend Knorr vegetable stock pot or stock cube
- 100 g gluten free spaghetti recommend Barilla or Rummo gluten free or supermarket own brand gluten free
- 1 pinch black pepper
Instructions
- Put the pan on a medium heat and add 1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
- Add the chopped bacon to the pan and crisp up.
- As soon as the bacon starts to turn golden, add the bay leaves and minced garlic and fry for one minute then add the diced onion and stir ensuring nothing catches to the bottom of the pan. If necessary add a little water rather than more oil and turn the heat down.
- Whilst the chopped onion is cooking prepare and add the diced celery and carrots and any cabbage and / or kale stalks chopped. Again stir regularly to ensure nothing catches to the bottom of the pan. I like to pop a lid on the pan and again if necessary add a little water rather than more oil.
- After 10 – 15 minutes and once every thing has softened and caramelised, add the stock pot and the tin of plum or chopped tomatoes. If using plum break the tomatoes up using your spoon. Add 1 tin's worth of water and stir.
- Pour in both tins of beans including the water they are in and a grind or two of pepper.
- Sprinkle the cabbage and kale on top, add 600ml of boiling water and break up the gluten free spaghetti into small pieces, 1-2cm lengths and add to the pan.
- Give everything a stir, bring to the boil, pop the lid on and cook on a low heat for 20 -30 minutes. Occasionally stir to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom, add a little more water if required.
- When the pasta is cooked, it's ready to serve. I like to top it off with spoonful of vegan pesto and for those of you who can tolerate a little ewe's milk pecorino, add a sprinkling. Truly Yummy!
Notes
Any left overs can be frozen but I find it’s better to make it fresh and enjoy it on the same day.