Bean and Vegetable Soup with Pasta

• 3 tbspolive oil, plus extra to finish
• 1onion, finely chopped
• 2carrots, finely diced
• 3garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tspdried oregano
• 1 tbsptomato puree
• 1 x 400gtin chopped tomatoes
• 1.2litres vegetable stock
• 1 x 400gtin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 x 400gtin borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
• 300ggreen or savoy cabbage, finely shredded
• 150gsmall pasta such as macaroni or ditalini
• 100gfrozen peas
• 40gParmesan, finely grated
• fine salt
• black pepper
• 1small crusty loaf, sliced

Method

1. 1Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Cook the onion and carrots with a teaspoon of salt for 8 minutes until soft and just starting to colour. Stir in the garlic, oregano and tomato puree for 1 minute until fragrant.
2. 2Add the chopped tomatoes, stock and both tins of beans. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes until the carrots are tender and the broth tastes of the vegetables rather than the stock cube.
3. 3Ladle about a third of the beans and a little broth into a bowl and crush them roughly with a fork or potato masher, then stir them back in. Crushed beans are what turn this from a thin soup into something with body.
4. 4Add the cabbage and pasta and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring now and then so the pasta does not stick, until the macaroni is tender and the cabbage is soft but still green. Stir in the peas for the last 2 minutes until bright.
5. 5Take off the heat and stir in half the Parmesan and plenty of black pepper. Taste for salt; the cheese and stock carry a fair amount, so go steady. If it has thickened past soup, loosen with a splash of boiling water.
6. 6Ladle into bowls, scatter over the rest of the Parmesan and drizzle with a little more olive oil. Serve with the bread for dragging through the bowl.

Per serving

kcal

584

protein

26.2g

fibre

15.3g

carbs

85.2g

fat

15.3g