Madhouse recipe : Minestrone Soup

The starting point for this recipe was a bag of soup pasta that I found on a recent #KitchenClearout. It had been in the cupboard for over a year (but was still in date, just about !) after I received it in a hamper for a blogger challenge. I've never been sure about soup in pasta because I thought the pasta would go too soggy and/or it would release starch into the broth. (Both of my worries turned out to be unfounded though.) I remember eating tinned minestrone soup as a child, so this was my inspiration. The recipe is probably totally inauthentic because it used up whatever was in the fridge !

Minestrone Soup

ingredients :

drizzle of olive oil

1 pack of bacon lardons

1 red onion

1 clove garlic

2 carrots

1 large courgette

1 leek

1 tin red kidney beans

1 tin chopped tomatoes

2tbsp tomato concentrate

a couple of handfuls of soup pasta

a couple of handfuls of frozen peas

chicken stock or water

salt, pepper, oregano

to serve : grated cheese or parmesan

Heat the olive oil in a large pot and fry the onions and bacon lardons.

Add the leeks and carrots, chopped into small pieces.

Next to go in are the courgettes. Cook for five minutes, stirring constantly.

Drain the kidney beans and add to the pot.

I wanted a rich tomatoey base so I added both tomato concentrate and chopped tomatoes.

Add about a litre of chicken stock or boiling water. Throw in a handful of frozen peas and bring back to the boil.

Add the pasta and cook for about ten minutes (check the cooking instructions on the pack).

Season with salt, pepper and lashings of oregano.

Serve into bowls and sprinkle with grated cheese.

This is a really hearty soup that even the kids loved.

Adding to this month's #KitchenClearout linky because it used up a bag of soup pasta that had been lurking in the cupboard for months.