Magic Minestrone Soup – from the Barefoot Book ‘Magic Minestrone’

Make a lovely hearty autumn soup using some or all of the ingredients below but if you don’t have them, make it up as you go along! Make sure an adult does the hot bits though…

 

Ingredients

 

2 sticks of celery

4 basil leaves

1 large courgettes

3 crushed cloves of garlic

2 leeks

1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

2 finely diced carrots

4 tablespoons of olive oil

2 skinned tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1 can of beans, drained and rinsed

1 vegetable bouillion (stock) cube

 

Salt and pepper to taste

 

How to make it

1. Cut washed celery into matchsticks. Cut courgette down the centre and then lengthwise.

2. Remove the green portions of the leeks, the base and the outer skin. Slice in 4 lengthwise, rinse and dice.

3. Add the celery, courgettes, leeks and tomatoes to the casserole and crumble the bouillon cube over. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

4. Rinse and pat dry the basil leaves then chop. Combine the crushed garlic, basil, parmesan cheese and olive oil in a bowl.

5. Stir the beans into the casserole, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add the olive oil mixture to the casserole and stir until blended. Add salt and pepper to taste.