This filling Italian soup is easy to make and a real crowd-pleaser on cold days. Only $1.90 per serve

1. Heat olive oil in a large stockpot. Add onion, garlic, celery, carrot and bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until vegetables are soft but not coloured.
2. Add borlotti beans, bay leaf, tomatoes and chicken stock. Bring to boil. Add potatoes and pasta. Return to boil. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes, or until potato and pasta are almost tender and soup is slightly thickened.
3. Add courgette. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, or until tender. Season with salt and pepper. Discard bay leaf.
4. Garnish minestrone with parsley and parmesan. Serve with mini garlic and parmesan rolls.

 

Mini garlic and parmesan rolls

Ravioli and pesto minestrone

 

Top tips for a tasty soup

Minestrone will thicken on standing. For a thinner soup, add water or stock when reheating.

Any flavoured stock or water can be used, and broken spaghetti or rice can replace the shell pasta.

Ham hocks are available from your butcher. Bacon bones, available from the deli section in supermarkets, also taste great.

Make soup up to four days ahead and store in refrigerator. Any vegetables can be used to make minestrone. Add ones that take longer to cook, such as root vegies, first, followed by softer ones such as peas and squash.

 

Try these variations

Leftover minestrone hotpot

Boil a half quantity of cooked minestrone with 1 cup water. Add 6 sliced, pre-cooked thick sausages. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Add 1 cup frozen peas and corn. Cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Stir in 100g baby spinach leaves.

Spanish twist

Follow method for minestrone, adding 2 tsp smoked paprika with tomatoes. Blend soup with 2 cups hot water or stock, in batches, until smooth. Cook 250g chopped fresh chorizo sausage in a hot frying pan until crisp. Drain on absorbent paper. Serve soup topped with chorizo and sour cream. Garnish with parsley.

Bread roll bowls

Cut a 10cm-wide circle from tops of large round bread rolls. Remove bread, leaving a 1cm-thick shell and reserve bread for another use. Place rolls and lids on an oven tray. Spray with cooking oil. Cook in a hot oven (200°C) for 10 minutes. Spoon hot soup into rolls. Serve with roll tops.