Minestrone

Name: Minestrone
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 3 h 15 min
Total time: 3 h 40 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 800 ml/28 fl oz/scant 3½ cups Vegetable Stock, ready-made stock or water, boiling, plus extra if needed; 4 large tomatoes; 55 g/2 oz dried angel hair pasta, broken up; 1 celery stick, finely chopped; 2 bay leaves, tied together with several rosemary and thyme sprigs; 1 carrot, diced; salt and freshly ground black pepper; freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to serve; 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve; ½ tsp caster sugar; 200 g/7 oz/1 cup dried cannellini beans, soaked in cold water for at least 8 hours; 150 g/5½ oz courgettes, diced; 1 leek, halved lengthways, thinly sliced and rinsed; 150 ml/5 fl oz/scant 2/3 cup passata; 1 recipe quantity Pesto Sauce or 4 tbsp ready-made fresh pesto, to serve; 150 g/5½ oz thin green beans, finely chopped; 1 onion, finely chopped; 4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
4 hr

Appears in

I Love My Slow Cooker

By Beverly LeBlanc

Published 2012

About

This soup is full of fresh Mediterranean flavours. You can make it in advance and reheat it, but only add the thin pasta pieces just before serving – they become overcooked and mushy if left to sit too long in the hot broth.

Ingredients

200 g/7 oz/1 cup dried cannellini beans, soaked in cold water for at least 8 hours

Europe
Italy
Mediterranean
Vegetarian
Soup

Method

Bring a large, covered saucepan of unsalted water to the boil. Drain the beans and add them to the pan. Return to the boil and boil vigorously for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse the beans, then transfer them to the slow cooker.

Add all of the remaining ingredients, except the tomatoes and pasta, and season with pepper. Add extra stock to cover the beans, if necessary.

Cover the coo