But the beans stumped me. I didn't know what to do with them. Then I saw Rachael Ray put them in a soup. And I was like "hey, minestrone!" So following Jamie Olivers basic minestrone recipe, I kind of altered it to include the random ingredients in our pantry.
Unfortunately I was slack on this one and didn't take photos (because I didn't intend to write about it really) so you'll just have to use your imagination... picture a tomatoey soup with lots of bits in it including potato, beans and pasta.... om nom nom...
INGREDIENTS
1 x400g can whole or chopped tomatoes
1 x400g can rinsed cannelini beans
4 cups chicken stock
diced ham (around 200g)
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1/2 capsicum (bell pepper), diced
1 potato, diced
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup small pasta
1 small tsp crushed garlic
1 bay leaf
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp onion salt (if you have it)
1 tbsp BBQ sauce
2 tbsp tomato sauce
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce (more or less depending on your tolerance)
1/2 cup grated cheese (ideally parmesan, but I didn't have any, so used Edam & Tasty - just as yum!)
sliced fresh bread to mop up soupyness
METHOD
- Heat pan with oil, and add ham, onion, garlic, carrot, capsicum, bay leaf and oregano
- Cook until veges are soft
- Add everything else except the pasta
- Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes
- 10 minutes before serving, add in the pasta
- Test the pasta to make sure it's cooked before serving, and taste constantly to adjust seasoning
- If the soup is too thick after the pasta is cooked, it can be thinned out with some more stock, or water
- Serve immediately with fresh bread
Seriously, I know it seems like a lot of ingredients, but it's so delicious, and really quite easy because most things all go in together. Was delicious on a cold autumn night! :)
