Minestrone Verde

Minestrone Verde is one of my favourite warming, comforting soups. I love the broth that accompanies the vegetables and pasta. I wanted to make something brothy with broccoli and beans and I came up with this. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! It's always a good sign when I'm eager to make it again after only just finishing it - I think this will be on repeat for a while!!

You will need:

1tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 lemon (juice and rind)

2 cloves or garlic, crushed

I brown onion, sliced

1 litre vegetable stock (or a vegetable broth if you want more flavour)

150g of small shaped pasta (I used quinoa macaroni)

1 small head of broccoli (just the florets)

1 cup of shredded green cabbage

1/2 cup of frozen peas

300g tinned cannellini beans

salt and pepper

a handful of mint leaves

grated parmesan for garnishing

warmed French baguette for serving

serves 4

Method :

• Heat your oven to 150 C and warm your baguette

• Heat the oil in a medium pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, salt, pepper and cook until softened and translucent (around 4 minutes).

• Add the stock or broth and bring to the boil.

• Add the pasta and cook for 5 minutes

• Add the broccoli, peas and cabbage, cook for a further two minutes

• Add in the beans and cook until the pasta is al dente.

• Add boiled water if you want more broth

• Serve into bowls, add the lemon juice, rind, parmesan and mint leaves

• Enjoy with your warmed baguette

• Season to taste

Notes:

• Leave the parmesan out for vegans (you could add nutritional yeast instead)

• If you don't like it too lemony just use half a lemon (I LOVE lemon so its hard to gage)

• Broken bits of spaghetti also work well if you don't have small shaped pasta to hand

Enjoy x x