Stay at Home Minestrone
Each week Thalia Pelligrini will be joining us to share her quarantine recipe of the week.
Hasn’t it been an absolute joy to see the sun this week? It’s been so uplifting - but I’ve still wanted warming, comforting meals.
This soup is delicious, nourishing and low-effort. My kind of meal. I used my slow cooker but an hour on the stove top would work well too.
Use whichever beans and veg you have. I didn’t have everything today so I swapped cannellini beans for a tin of mixed beans and rainbow chard for the spring greens. I also added some chopped fresh sage. For an additional nutrient boost, you could add some powdered mushrooms. Lions mane and reishi add a lovely depth of flavour.
100g smoked, dry-cured lardons (can be left out)
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 sticks celery, sliced
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, needles finely chopped
1 tsp dried or fresh thyme
1 tbsp tomato purée
400g can chopped tomatoes
1.2 litres good quality stock or bone broth
400g cannellini beans in water, rinsed and drained
50g wholewheat spaghetti, snapped into short lengths
100g spring greens, thickly shredded
Salt & freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
25g parmasan or nutritional yeast
Put a large frying pan over a low heat, add the lardons if using and cook for ten minutes until crisp and golden.
Tip the carrots, celery and onion into the bacon fat or a tablespoon of olive oil and fry for 2 minutes before adding the garlic, herbs abs tomato purée. Cool for 1 minute then add the tomatoes and most of the stock. Bring to the boil. Carefully transfer the soup to a slow cooker, cover with the lid, then cook on high for 4 hours.
Stir the beans and pasta into the soup, adding the rest of the stock if it seems too thick. Scatter the shredded greens over the top of the soup, then re-cover with the lid. Cook for 30 minutes. Stir, season then drizzle with olive oil and parmasan or nutritional yeast. 💛
Thalia is a registered nutritional therapist (MBANT CNHC). Her passion is working with women, supporting them on their journey to feel their very best. She takes the sting out of making changes that can transform your health. Her motto? Nourish you, too.