Minestrone Soup

This soup is an excellent dish to make if you have lots of different vegetables to use up and can be made with most cold meats, although ham is usually used. If you've made your own pasta with the Pasta Dough you can cut it into strips and then make small diamond shapes to put into the soup instead of the dried spaghetti or pasta shapes that the recipe calls for.

2 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2-3 carrots, chopped
2 x 400g chopped tomatoes
1L stock, chicken or vegetable
3 celery sticks, chopped
1/2 medium cabbage, shredded
3 medium potatoes, chopped
1 leek, chopped
120g frozen peas
120g pearl barley
100g  pasta shapes or small pieces of dried spaghetti
1 bay leaf
2-3 sprigs of thyme
salt and pepper to season


Step 1
Prepare the pearl barley as instructed on the packet. In a large saucepan heat the oil then add the onion, garlic, leek, celery and carrot and cook for five minutes on a medium heat, stirring to prevent any browning.
Add the stock, tomatoes, cabbage, bay leaf, thyme and potatoes. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Step 2
Add the pasta and pearl barley and season to taste before cooking for another 5 minutes. Add the peas and simmer for a final two minutes. Throughout the cooking stir to prevent the ingredients settling at the bottom and sticking.




This soup is a real winter-warmer. You don't have to use all the vegetables stated in the ingredients list, you can swap out some for others or even add some if you like. If you make this soup after christmas you could swap out the cabbage for brussel sprouts for example, and don't be afraid to add any vegetables. The main veg to make this dish are the ones down to celery, anything else you can change. If you'e made your own pasta I highly reccomend you use it in this dish, homemade pasta makes a difference you can taste.