White Bean Minestrone

📝 Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil (2 for cooking, 1 for serving)
• 1 brown onion (150 g)
• 2 carrots (200 g)
• 2 celery sticks (120 g)
• 1 courgette (250 g)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes (400 g)
• 2 tins white beans (500 g drained)
• 200 g small dried pasta (short macaroni)
• 2 vegetable stock cubes + 1.5 l water
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 60 g grated Parmesan
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Large casserole dish with lid
• Chopping board
• Kitchen knife
• Wooden spoon
• Colander
• Ladle

📖 Steps

1. Peel the onion and carrots, then cut them into small dice of about 1 cm. Thinly slice the celery and dice the courgette to the same size as the carrots. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Evenly sized pieces all cook at the same time.
2. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in the large pot over a medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery with a pinch of salt and cook gently for 8 minutes, stirring often, until the onion is translucent but not coloured.
3. Add the garlic and oregano and stir for 1 minute, just until fragrant: browned garlic turns bitter. Pour in the chopped tomatoes, then 1.5 l hot water, crumble in the stock cubes and bring to the boil over a high heat.
4. Reduce to a medium-low heat, cover with the lid slightly ajar and simmer for 15 minutes: the carrots should start to soften. Meanwhile, tip the white beans into the colander and rinse them under cold water to remove the liquid from the tin.
5. Add the courgette, beans and pasta, then bring back to a gentle boil. Cook uncovered for the time given on the pasta packet (usually 8 to 10 minutes), stirring now and then so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot.
6. Taste the broth before adding salt, as the stock cubes are already salty, then season with pepper. If the soup is too thick, add a little hot water: the pasta keeps absorbing liquid, even off the heat.
7. Serve piping hot in shallow bowls. Sprinkle each bowl with 15 g grated Parmesan, then finish with a drizzle of olive oil, sharing the last tablespoon between the 4 bowls.