Minestra

This is quick and easy-to-make hearty and low fat meal and today I am using pumpkin, carrots, zucchini, potatoes, peas, skinned tomatoes and turnip. Locally this is a traditional dish commonly made in every home and you can use up any vegetables that you may have or be as creative as you wish but I always include the basics of onion, potato and pumpkin. You do not need to be precise about the measurements and this is what I like about it as the end result is always good.

You will need:

Vegetables of your choice, chopped and peeled, allow 200g per portion
Stock or Stock Cubes, allow 1/2 per two portions
Water
Tomato Purée, calculate about 1 spoon per two portions
Onion, 1/4 per, two portions
Garlic clove, optional
Parsley, finely chopped
Seasoning
A drizzle of olive oil for cooking the vegetables
Small pasta shapes, this is optional and you can leave it out

Sauté the finely chopped onion and garlic in a drizzle of olive oil. add the chopped vegetables stirring continuously as you do not want to brown the vegetables. Dissolve the stock cube/s in some hot water and add to the pot. Immerse the vegetables in water. Bring to boil and simmer for an hour making sure that the water does not dry out. Stir and add some tomato purée and around 10 g of small pasta shapes per portion. Season. Remove from heat once the pasta is cooked and add some of the finely chopped parsley and give it another stir. Cover and leave to stand for 10 minutes before serving.

You can vary this recipe and add more tomatoes or a can of chopped tomatoes. I like adding a can of cannelloni beans to mine. I know some people soak beans and pulses overnight to add to this soup but I personally rarely find the time to do it. I also like to add frozen peas as the end of the cook time as this gives the soup a lovely color. Garnish with finely chopped parsley and some freshly grated parmesan and we have ours with lots of freshly ground pepper ....

For a gluten free diet use gluten free pasta or simply leave the pasta out.