HEALTHY FOOD so TASTY you'll
want to eat it EVERYDAY.
RECIPE: MINESTRONE SOUP
A classic for chilly days…and an easy way to get a lot of veggies in you and the kids.
Packed with veggies and beans for nutrients, fibre and protein.
With the beans and veggies, this delivers enough protein and vitamins to stand as a meal on its own – making it great as a satisfying lunch and/or those evening where you just want to have a light supper.
PREP TIME: 10-15 min
COOK TIME: 30-45 min
SERVES: 6
INGREDIENTS
FOR COOKING:
-
1 sachet TASTE OF TUSCANY spice blend
-
2 TBSP (30 ml) olive oil
-
One 14 oz (400 g) can diced tomatoes
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One 14 oz (400 g) can white beans
-
4 cups (1 L) vegetable or chicken broth (bouillon)
-
1 red bell pepper, chopped
-
1 celery stalk, chopped
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1 zucchini (courgette) chopped
-
1 carrot, peeled & chopped
-
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
-
½ tsp black pepper
TO SERVE:
-
Grated parmesan cheese
-
Toasted whole grain or sourdough bread
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
CONVENTIONAL STOVETOP METHOD
1) Add TASTE OF TUSCANY spice blend and olive oil to a 3 QT / 3 L pot and cook for 1 minute over medium high heat, to activate the flavours.
2) Add the rest of the soup ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for a minimum of 45 minutes.
NOTE: the longer you simmer, the deeper the flavour.
WONDERBAG METHOD
If you have a Wonderbag, you can enjoy hands-free, energy-free slow cooking and let the pot sit in the Wonderbag all day for maximum flavour development.
1) Add TASTE OF TUSCANY spice blend and olive oil to a 3 QT or 3 L pot and cook for 1 minute over medium high heat, to activate the spices’ flavors
2) Add the rest of the soup ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
3) Seal your lidded pot in the Wonderbag for a minimum of 3 hours (can be left all day) to finish cooking.
SERVE
Spoon into bowls, garnish with grated parmesan cheese and a piece of toasted bread (great for crunch and dunking into the soup).
You can also serve this over cooked brown rice, barley, millet or quinoa to increase the fibre count and make it more filling if you've got big eaters in the house!
As you are still looking how about some background info? Minestrone comes from the Latin 'Minestra' which was traditionally the principal - and for the poor, the only - course of the meal. Thats how good this is - its packed with goodness.
Recipe & Photo Credit: Cathy Menees
COOK'S NOTES
INGREDIENTS
Soup is so popular in Netherlands you can buy bags of pre-washed, pre-chopped veggies, so for the Dutchies (or anyone who has that in their supermarket), you can substitute the bell pepper, zucchini, and carrot for a 1lb or 500 g bag of fresh veggies.
PREP TIME
5 minutes if you buy pre-cut veggies, 10 minutes if you are working with whole ingredients.
COOKING STEP
I have found that cooking the spices first in olive oil kicks off the caramelization process, so you just get a deeper, sweeter flavor into the soup. But when you’re in a hurry, you can skip step 1 and chuck all of the ingredients into the pot at once.
