I've included a recipe for a springtime minestrone - a great lunch soup that freezes well and will be different every time depending on how much (or little) you have left. But even if it's only potato and garlic, with your home made stock as it's base there is nothing to not love about this simple recipe.Springtime minestrone
This is a great lunch soup at any time of year - but especially suited to the tender new season vegetables starting to appear. Italian cookbooks will tell you it is the soup that unites a nation - and also that there is no single recipe. Families have favourites and the vegetables will vary depending on season - or what needs using up that day! It freezes well and even if it's only potato and garlic that you need to use up, with your home-made stock as it's base there is everything to love about this simple recipe.
3 tbsp olive oil, or a generous slice of unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped
1-2 bacon rashers, foughly chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed or handful of wild garlic, washed and shredded finely
2 carrots, cut into 1cm dice
Seasonal vegetables of your choice (at the moment, 1 head spring greens and half a cabbage, shredded finely, 3 large leaves of cavolo nero, shredded in 1cm ribbons) Use 1-2 stalks celery as well, if available
1.5l chicken stock
1 potato, cut into 2cm dice or handful of waxy new potatoes thinly sliced
1 can borlotti or haricot beans
handful pasta, snapped into small pieces
Parmesan rind or small piece of too-hard cheddar
Cornish sea salt
Fresh herbs
Grated parmesan or cheddar
1. Heat the oil or butter in a heavy-based pan and add the onion and garlic. Soften over a medium heat for 5 minutes, without allowing them to colour, then add the carrots and bacon. Repeat with the celery if using and splash a little water from a freshly boiled kettle if the vegetables are sticking.
2. Add the potatoes and cavalo nero, if using. After 5 minutes add the rest of the seasonal vegetables in order of cooking time (fennel or cabbage will take longer than peas or spring greens) and allow to soften slightly – they don't need to cook through at this point.
3. Add the stock, the beans and pasta. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat. Add the parmesan rind and simmer for about 15 minutes until the potato and pasta are cooked. Season to taste.
4. Finely chop the herbs and mash with some olive oil and salt to taste. Serve with a teaspon of herb oil, a grating of parmesan and some torn wild garlic leaves if you like. If made ahead of time, you'll find the pasta swells and absorbs the liquid, so make it without pasta then add it when you reheat it.
Extras and substitutions
A couple handfuls of swede, finely diced, works well
Any herbs will do except mint - try fennel, marjoram, basil or chives
Cooked ham can be fried with the onion and a small amount of leftover chicken can be used
Moving closer to Spain, chorizo and a few small tomatoes roughly chopped will be warming on a colder day
No parmesan? No problem, Davidstow cheddar is a great substitution