Minestrone Soup

[cookie1]

Minestrone Soup
Serves about 6-8
Ingredients
50 g EVOO
3 short cut bacon pieces, or you can use any bacon
½ sliced leek
1 small carrot, chopped
1 brown onion
2 sticks chopped celery
250g shredded savoy cabbage
60g frozen peas
 a can of borlotti beans, drained and rinsed, I used chick peas
1 potato cubed
1 small zucchini, cubed
1 small tomato, chopped
Preparation
I cut the vegetables by hand as I wanted the soup chunky. It didn't take me  long.
Place onion in bowl and blitz on speed 4 until the size you want.
Add chopped up leek and EVOO and bacon that has been chopped.
Cook Varoma,  , speed 2 with the MC off approx. 5 minutes. Mine did need a bit more.
Add the carrot and celery. Approx 5 minutes Varoma, speed 2.
Add cabbage, frozen peas, potato, zucchini and tomato.
Varoma 5 minutes,  speed 2.
Add approx. 1 litre of water and your favourite stock paste. If you have a T 5 you can add about another 250ml of water.
Cook at 100,  , speed 2/3 for about 15 minutes until the vegetables are cooked.
Add seasoning and the borlotti beans. Cook another 5 minutes
You can add about 100g Arborio rice if you like it thicker. Take care it isn't too much for the bowl.

This is a lovely soup. I have adapted it from a recipe in the Women's Day

[K Atie]

Yum this looks great , will try making some soon . Rice would be a great change .

[Cornish Cream]

Thanks for the recipe Cookie.

[judydawn]

It sounds very nice cookie.

[cookie1]

Photo added at last. I had to fight the bowl from DH as he ate the last of it.

[Delightful Den]

Made this tonight, it was very good. Here are some tweaks I will try when I make it again. 

Reduce the EVOO to 30gm and add 20gm butter.
Leave out the fresh tomato and add a can of crushed tomatoes with the stock and water, reduce the water to compensate for the extra volume of the tinned tomatoes.

[cookie1]

Sounds good DD. I'm pleased you enjoyed it.

[meganjane]

So you use potato instead of pasta, cookie? I wonder how it would go with pasta shells.

[cookie1]

I think you could put anything you wished in MJ. Pasta would be fine. Would you still put the rice in?

[cookie1]

DH wanted some Borscht the other night. I used this recipe and added 3 chopped up Beetroot. It was really nice. You do need to be very careful that you don't go over the 2 litre mark though.

[cookie1]

We had this for dinner last night with Pita bread and then the left overs for lunch today.
I only added one Beetroot this time.

[mab19]

Made this today before going shopping.  Added extra veggies and some frozen tomatoes from the freezer.  A very tasty soup.

[cookie1]

I'm pleased you like it Margaret.