Minestrone Soup

Ingredients:

• 125gr / 4.5 oz. smoked bacon sliced finely or into thin strips
• 1 can kidney beans (400gr / 14 oz.) drained and washed
• 1 can chopped tomatoes (400gr / 14 oz.)
• 3 carrots, peeled and chopped finely
• 3 stalks of celery chopped finely
• 1 tbsp of fresh thyme leaves
• 3 large cloves of garlic, chopped finely
• 100gr / 3.5 oz. macaroni
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion chopped finely
• Some finely grated parmesan to serve
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/3 of a savoy cabbage, shredded
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 2 large tomatoes chopped into 8ths
• 1.2 liter / 2.5 pt. UK / 2.1 pt.US chicken or vegetable stock

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil in a very large pan that has a close fitting lid. Then add the celery, bacon, onion, carrot and garlic. Fry this off for about 5 to 7 minutes until it has softened a little. No colour is needed on the vegetables, so make sure the heat isn’t too high that they become brown, but high enough the vegetables sweat and soften.
2. Add the tomato purée and the thyme leaves, stir through and cook for about 30 seconds.
3. Add the stock, the tin of tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, and a little salt and pepper. Stir everything through, set the heat so that your soup is on a gentle simmer, cover and cook for about 25 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked al dente.
4. Add the pasta and cook until the pasta is ready. Follow the timing instructions on the packet, but this is normally about 7 minutes.
5. Add the cabbage and the beans and cook until the cabbage has wilted. This will take about 5 minutes.
6. Check for seasoning and add some salt and pepper if needed before serving.
7. Sprinkle a little parmesan over each bowl of soup.

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