Minestrone

Ingredients

• 400 g borlotti or cannellini beans, cooked
• 1 pieces onion, diced
• 2 pieces carrots, diced
• 2 pieces celery stalks, diced
• 1 pieces courgette, diced
• 150 g green beans, cut
• 200 g savoy cabbage, shredded
• 400 g tinned tomatoes
• 120 g small pasta or rice
• 1 pieces Parmesan rind
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• 20 g basil leaves

Steps

1. 1
   Cook the onion, carrot and celery gently in the olive oil for 15 minutes until sweet and soft. Rushing the soffritto costs you the whole base of the soup.
2. 2
   Add the tomatoes and cook 10 minutes until they lose their raw edge.
3. 3
   Pour in 1.5 litres of water, add the Parmesan rind and half the beans, and simmer 20 minutes.
4. 4
   Mash the remaining beans and stir them in to thicken the broth naturally.
5. 5
   Add the harder vegetables first — green beans and cabbage — and cook 10 minutes.
6. 6
   Add the courgette and the pasta and cook until the pasta is just done.
7. 7
   Fish out the rind, tear in the basil, and finish each bowl with a hard drizzle of raw olive oil and grated Parmesan.