winter minestrone with garlic bread
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 8 servings
We have been trying to find a halfway decent minestrone for bloody ages and whilst it may not be the most exciting recipe ever, it is one of our favourite soups. Luckily, Ina Garten of all people came through with the goods and whilst we have changed a few bits to make it a little lighter in terms of calories, I can confirm it's delicious. It also freezes really well. Give it a go!
Calories are worked out via the NHS app and are approximate, so make sure you double check if you're not sure.
Ingredients
- 100g bacon medallions, diced
- 2 brown onions, finely diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and finely diced
- 3 stalks of celery (you guessed it, finely diced)
- 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 2 tins chopped tomatoes
- 1 tin cannellini beans, drained
- 1 tin of butter beans
- 200g dried macaroni
- 250g baby spinach
- 250ml white wine
- 2 tbsp green pesto
- 1.5L chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- spray a large pan with a little oil and place over a medium heat
- add the bacon and cook for 6-8 minutes until lightly browned
- add the onions, carrots, celery, sweet potato, garlic and thyme, stir and cook for 8-10 minutes until the veg is starting to soften
- add the tomatoes, stock, bay leaf and a pinch of salt and pepper to the pan, bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes
- remove the bay leaf, then add the beans and pasta and cook for another 10 minutes or so
- add the spinach to the pan and stir, and cook until wilted
- add the wine and pesto, stir and serve with garlic bread
Yeah we aren't going to give you the recipe for garlic bread, it's bread rubbed with garlic topped with cheese. Ah bum.
Notes
Recipe
- we sped up this recipe by using the pre-chopped bags of vegetables from the supermarket - not necessary, we're just bone idle
- add some chilli flakes to make this more of a winter warmer, and then die inside for saying winter warmer
Books
- our new cookbook - Dinner Time - is simply amazing - we've seen the first drafts and it's just incredible - you can pre-order here!
- our second cookbook Fast & Filling is all about fast recipes that fill you right up: order yours here!
- our original cookbook is still a stunner and has another 100 recipes to help you out: click here to order
- even our planner is awash with recipes - 26 recipes plus all your planning needs: here
Tools
- we have finally found halfway decent freezable soup containers - rejoice - find them here
Disclosure: the links above are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, we will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and make a purchase. Which is handy, as thanks to Paul's love of an Uber and my love of sitting, we're in debt to the tune of £16,000,000 to every bugger with a Prius or Skoda Octavia in London
Courses soup
Cuisine minestrone
Recipe by twochubbycubs at https://twochubbycubs.com/2022/02/17/winter-minestrone/