Homemade minestrone
Method
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Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onion, bacon, celery, garlic and carrots for 2-3 minutes, or until softened.
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Stir in the potatoes and fry for a further 2-3 minutes. Pour in the stock and bring the mixture to the boil. Stir in the tomato purée and simmer for 45 minutes.
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Add the haricot beans, herbs, chopped tomatoes and spaghetti and continue to cook until the pasta is tender. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
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For the croûtons, drizzle the bread with the olive oil.
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Heat a griddle pan until hot and fry the bread on one side for 2-3 minutes, or until golden-brown. Meanwhile, preheat the grill to high.
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Remove the bread from the pan and top the uncooked side with the mozzarella. Place under the grill for 2-3 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling and golden-brown.
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To serve, ladle the soup into 4 soup bowls and top with a croûton.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, peeled, sliced
- 150g/5½oz streaky bacon, diced
- 4 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled, finely chopped.
- 2 carrots, peeled, diced
- 2 potatoes, peeled, diced
- 1 litre/1 pint 15¼fl oz beef stock
- 30g/1oz tomato purée
- 400g/14 oz canned haricot beans, drained
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- handful chopped fresh parsley
- 400g/14 oz tomatoes, chopped
- 100g/3½ oz spaghetti, broken into 2cm/1in pieces
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the croûtons
- 1 crusty white bread loaf, cut into thick slices
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 200g/7oz mozzarella, torn
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Homemade minestrone
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