- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 brown onions, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely crushed
- 5 slices of back bacon or
- pancetta, finely sliced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 celery sticks, diced
- Generous grindings of NoMU All for One
- NoMU Just Salt
- NoMU Just Pepper
- 2 medium potatoes, peeled and halved
- 500 ml tomato passata
- 1 litre prepared NoMU Chicken or Vegetable stock
- 1 can each of cannellini,
- borlotti and butter beans
- 3 courgettes, sliced diagonally
- 2 cups of fresh or frozen peas
- 1 large packet of fresh English spinach
- Basil pesto (see mailer # 15)
- 1 cup of grated parmesan or
- mature cheddar cheese
- Early harvest extra virgin olive for drizzling
Minestrone soup
Sauté the onion and bacon in the olive oil and butter in a large heavy based pot until lightly golden. Add the diced carrot, celery, garlic and NoMU One for All and fry for another 2 minutes.
Stir in the tomato passata, stock and add the potatoes. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 1 hour. If the potatoes have not broken up already, press them against the sides of the pot to break them up, add all the beans with their juices to the soup and simmer for another 30 minutes. Ten minutes before serving the minestrone, add the peas and sliced courgettes. Taste the soup and season with salt and pepper. While you are heating up your soup bowls in the oven add the spinach to the top of your soup so that the leaves just wilt through.
Serve the soup with a dollop of pesto, some grated cheese, a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and hot bread straight out the oven.
Serves 6.
Wine suggestions
Go for a creamy Boekenhoutskloof Semillon which you’ll love with a robust bowl of minestrone.
