Sunday 30 September 2012

Lets Cooks - JB's Super Simple Minestrone.

Hi there Folks,

So as soon as the weather starts to get a little colder and the nights get darker I find myself craving soup. I love the stuff, it does wonders for putting that cosy, warm feeling in your belly. So this week I decided to make a super simple Minestrone soup.

Now personally, I'd say this soup is brilliant for students to make. Being a student myself (albeit not a proper one who only eats baked beans and super noodles) I think that the ingredients of this soup can be found loitering in most student's cupboards and fridge. Also, if you have a pan big enough to make a massive batch you can freeze some for a later date, although I know how stingy halls are on fridge and freezer space but if you've got room it's a winner! Another bonus is that if you're very organised and have a Thermos flask you can take some to uni with you to save you having to buy lunch there as the canteen's can be quite expensive.

So, for this super simple soup you'll need:


2 celery sticks

1 onion

1 pepper

2 garlic cloves (or garlic powder)

2-3 new potatoes (or one normal potato, I only have little ones!)

1 tin of baked beans

2 cartons/tins of chopped tomatoes

Small stack of spaghetti (or any other pasta you fancy)

1 litre of stock (I used fresh chicken stock but vegetable stock cubes are fine!)

Any other vegetables you have floating around in your fridge that need eating up (i.e my green beans!)

Oil

Salt, Pepper and Mixed Herbs for seasoning



So here's how it's done:


1. Chop all your veggies up into bite sized chunks. It doesn't need to be super neat but remember your soup isn't being blended so they can't be too huge!

2. Start by lightly frying the onion and garlic in some oil until softened. Then add the celery, pepper and green beans (or other veg) and cook for a few more minutes. Finally add the potatoes and cook for two minutes.

3. Add the baked beans and chopped tomatoes to the pan and stir through. Then add your stock, stir and place the lid on and leave to simmer for 15 minutes. 

4. Break the spaghetti into small segments and add that and whatever herbs you would like to use as seasoning (I just used mixed herbs). Leave the lid off and simmer for a further 15 minutes or until the spaghetti is cooked.

And there you go...you have some yummy minestrone to warm you up during the chilly days. Serve nice and hot with some bread and butter...yum yum!


Please feel free to share any other yummy soup recipes you love to eat in the colder months!

Ciao for now,

8 comments:

  1. You make it look so easy! I may just have to give this a go. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It really is easy, honestly, it took me about 15 minutes to get it all ready to just sit and simmer. So quick and easy and super yummy :] I really hope you enjoy it if you do give it a try! :]

      Delete
  2. Haha, me too! I have some in the fridge that I could definitely tuck in to :]

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yum! This looks so good. Thanks for the recipe!

    Katie
    www.funhomethings.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Minestrone soup is one of my favorites! This looks so good!!
    Thanks so much for sharing this at Mom's Test Meal Mondays!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Jaime :] Let me know if you try it out!

      Delete