Chicken and Green Bean Minestrone

 The contents of the fridge needed to be reorganised. I rescued what could still be used to construct a dish, and I ended up with a minestrone. The onion and the chicken were cooked first in some olive oil, The rest of the vegetables were prepared and added to the flat pot at a medium heat, along with about half a pint of water. Cooked for ninety minutes under glass, stirring frequently. Delicious!

Minestrone Soup

Always a favourite, and a great way to use up surplus ingredients from another dish. In this case, some yellow pepper, batonned carrot, chickpeas, white onion, chilli, mustard seed, and basmati rice. I added tomato puree (three squirts), two spring onions, diced, a drizzle of olive oil, plus black pepper, and vegetable and chicken stock. And a handful of broken spaghetti. I added the herbs basil and oregano. Cooked for an hour before serving. 

 

Thick Minestrone Soup

Made with diced apple, carrot and potato. Plus diced brussels sprouts, one green finger chilli, and broken spaghetti. I also added some grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

I added a pinch of oregano and coriander leaf, plus some pork stock and two squirts of tomato puree.

Allowed to simmer under glass for two hours.

Minestrone, with Yellow Peas and Coriander

A simple minestrone soup made with diced coriander, dried whole yellow peas (hydrated overnight), broken pasta, carrot, diced spring onion and dwarf beans, plus half of  a green pepper, a couple of squirts of tomato puree, and one clove of garlic.

Cooked for forty-five minutes under glass at a low heat. After which the herbs (basil, parsely and oregano) were added, along with the chicken and vegetable stock. I also added half a teaspoonful of fish sauce (Asian nam pla, which resembles the fish sauce used by the ancient Romans), and a few shakes of ground white pepper.

Simmered under glass for a further forty minutes or so, before serving.

Dark Minestrone Soup (with Black Rice)

A great dish for using up odds and ends in the fridge. This one was made with broken spaghetti, diced onion, carrot, potato, spring onion, diced garlic, some red lentils, chopped celery, a quarter of a red bell pepper, a handful of Thai black rice, plus a little spelt grain, three squirts of tomato puree, and chicken stock.

Prepare the vegetables and the spaghetti, and add to a pot of boiling water. Add the rice and the spelt, the tomato puree and the chicken stock. Simmer under glass at a low heat for an hour and a half.

Serve with a toasted garlic and coriander naan bread. Delicious!

Minestrone with German Salami

A minestrone soup made with carrot, onion, courgette, green beans, potato, garlic, paprika, turmeric, tomato puree, plus the herbs oregano, basil and marjoram. Plus some diced German salami, chicken stock, and broken wheat-free spaghetti.

The vegetables were diced first, along with the garlic, then added to a pot of boiling water. They were boiled for thirty minutes before being mashed.

Add the turmeric and paprika, the chicken stock (vegetable stock will do instead),  two squirts of tomato puree, the salami sausage (four thin slices is enough), and finally the broken spaghetti pieces. Cook for another forty five minutes under glass, and add the herbs fifteen minutes before the dish is ready to serve. Stir occasionally to prevent the spaghetti sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Serve with garlic bread, or another bread, according to choice.