Drizzle means minestrone

Forget your acai berries or sprouting beans, minestrone is my superfood. Anytime it's miserable and drizzly outside or I feel my throat getting sore and I suspect the onset of a cold, I raid the vegetable drawer of the fridge and assemble this wonderfully comforting soup. The great thing about minestrone is that it is a very flexible thing to cook i.e. you can use more stock or water for a thinner, more summery soup or leave out the pasta pieces if you're avoiding gluten. And it lasts for ages! You can keep it going by adding more pasta and as with most soups and stews, it tastes better the next day.

I found a basic recipe years ago but once you get the hang of it you tailor it to your own tastes. Here is my favourite way of doing it...




Easy minestrone

Ingredients:
1 pack of pancetta cubes or 100g bacon
1 carrot
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
small pinch of chilli flakes
1 courgette
1 aubergine
1 pepper
2 fresh tomatoes
1 carton of passata (500g)
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tsp tomatoe purée
1 pinch sugar
handful dried pasta
fresh and/or dried herbs


Heat a tablespoon of (any) oil and add the pancetta and fry until beginning to brown. Add medium diced onions finely diced carrots and cook until the onions become transparent. If using dried herbs or chilli, add a teaspoon of them at this point. Add the finely chopped garlic and stir. Add the courgette, aubergine and peppers that have been cubed (1cm/1.5cm) and mix to ensure all vegetables are coated with the pancetta and onion mixture. The aubergines may need another light drizzle of oil but be careful not to add too much. Add the chopped tomatoes, passata and purée and add a small pinch of sugar. Fill the tomato tin with water and pour in. Gently simmer until vegetables are almost cooked through, then add the pasta broken up into bite size pieces. When pasta is cooked, add fresh herbs and season to taste before serving.

Once in your bowl you can make it more indulgent by adding a dollop of pesto, shavings of Parmesan or pecorino. It's even nicer the next day when you can add more pasta for a more filling dish or add some beans e.g. borlotti, cannellini.