This hearty Italian soup is packed with goodness. Give the vegetables a good cooking in the pot before adding the liquids.
(All Plans) Minestrone with Autumn pesto

Cook time: 35 minutes
couple, family
Ingredients
Instructions
1
Dice the onion.
Cut the fennel in half. Roughly dice into 1 cm cubes.
Peel the carrot and dice into 1 cm cubes.
Remove the leaves from the celery and dice into 1 cm cubes.
2
Place a pot of salted water on to boil to pre-cook the pasta.
Peel and mince the garlic.
Open and strain the borlotti beans.
Cook the pasta in boiling water until just done, about 8 to 10 minutes. Strain and cool under running water.
3
In a large pot, sweat the onion and carrot in a little oil for a minute, then add the garlic, celery and fennel, and cook for another minute or two.
Add the minestrone paste and give it a good mix. Crush the tomatoes and add to the pot, a pinch of salt, and water then bring to a simmer and add the beans.
Taste the soup and add more salt, as needed. Make sure the carrot is cooked before adding in the cooked pasta and warming through.
4
Serve soup topped with Autumn pesto. Don’t eat the bay leaf!