Easy to make – hearty and healthy – eat it straight away, it tastes even better the next day or freeze it! Approx ten minutes prep time and around 30 minutes to cook it all up.
1 x chopped bell pepper
1 x chopped onion
1-2 cloves of chopped garlic
1 x chopped carrot
Dessert spoon of olive oil
1 x tin of tomatoes
1 x tin of borlotti beans (or kidney, cannellini, butter beans)
Handful of chopped green beans
Half cup of frozen peas
Cup of wholemeal pasta (I used wholemeal spelt)
1 x half litre of vegetable stock – I recommend Marigold bouillon
1 x squeeze of tomato paste
Handful of basil leaves
Heaped teasp of mixed herbs
Half teasp of chill flakes
Using a medium to large saucepan, heat the olive oil and sauté the pepper, onion, garlic and carrot until soft. Add the tinned tomatoes, (I also added in some chopped fresh tomatoes here that were getting soft). Add the veggie stock, green beans, tomato paste and herbs – If you’re using fresh basil tear the leaves instead of chopping them – better for the release of flavour. Allow everything to come to the bubble! Add the pasta, peas strained beans reducing the heat, allowing the soup to simmer, stirring occasionally. After 20-30 minutes – check the pasta & green beans, once they’re cooked you’re ready to go.
You can vary this recipe to your taste - an opportunity perhaps to use up veggies from the fridge – e.g. add chopped celery to the sautéd vegetables or use diced potatoes or sweet potatoes instead of pasta. Add more chili if you like a real kick. Use different types of beans. Add more stock to make it more soupy – I like a lot of bite in my soup so it’s more like stew.
Grated cheddar (or parmesan) makes a tasty garnish.
Toast pumpkin and /or sunflower seeds on a dry pan and add tamari or soya sauce to taste. Once these cool they make a lovely crunchy topping.
If there's any left store it in the fridge, it tastes even better the next day, an ideal recipe for batch cooking.
