Minestrone Soup

• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 leek, chopped
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 sticks of celery, chopped
• 1 courgette, diced
• 1 potato or half a celeriac root, diced
• 400 g of soaked and spouted* cannellini beans
• 2 slices pancetta finely sliced
• olive oil
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 500 g grated tomatoes
• 1,5 litres homemade bone broth or vegetable stock
• 120 g short pasta such as ditali or “kofto”- κοφτό
• 2 tbsps basil pesto, optional

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the pancetta and fry gently for 2 minutes, or until golden. Add the garlic, onion, carrots, celery, courgette, leek, thyme and bay leaf and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened, stirring occasionally.

Add the potato, cannellini beans, tomatoes and stock. Stir well, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the potato is cooked through. .

Add the pasta and cook for 1 minute less than the instructions on the packet to ensure pasta is al dente.

Stir through the basil pesto and season with salt and black pepper. Serve with crusty bread.

*If you haven’t sprouted the beans, you will need to parboil them for about 40′ before adding them to the soup.

Soaking and sprouting saves cooking time, makes beans better digestible and their nutrients more readily available.

For more information see here