Minestrone Soup Recipe

I often make this Italian minestrone soup recipe when I fancy a little bit of pasta but am not in the mood for a really big bowl of it. It's packed full of fresh, nutritious vegetables and flavorsome herbs and really is so easy to make. Perfect served with some toasted garlic ciabatta rolls or tomato and olive foccacia bread.

Preparation Time 10 mins - Cooking Time 15 mins - Serves 4

3 large tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 small leek, finely chopped

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 small carrots, peeled and chopped into small pieces

1 small red pepper (capiscum), finely chopped

1 small green pepper (capiscum), finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

200g wholewheat penne pasta

2 1/2 pints of vegetable stock

2 tablespoons dried basil

Olive oil

Salt and coarse black pepper

Fresh basil leaves to garnish

Method

1. Heat a little olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the chopped tomatoes, onion, garlic, peppers, carrots and leek and cook over a low heat for about 5 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften.

2. Next, add the vegetable stock, penne pasta, dried basil and a generous dash of salt and black pepper. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer over a medium heat for 10 minutes until the pasta and vegetables have cooked. Ladle into warmed bowls and garnish with some fresh basil leaves.

Variations

A little bit of finely chopped celery also works really well in this minestrone soup recipe. And of course you can use any type of pasta shapes you prefer.

Top Tip

It's best to store tomatoes at room temperature as their flesh will soften if placed in the refrigerator. When you want them to ripen, place them on a sunny window ledge.

Nutrition Nugget

Tomatoes are rich in vitamin C, which is essential for maintaining a healthy immune system.

Regular consumption of tomatoes is also believed to reduce the risk of developing cancer. This fantastic article on superfoods that fight cancer explains exactly why they are so important to our health (opens new window).

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