Minestrone

This is the most versatile and easygoing of recipes. Not got an ingredient? Miss it out! Got some leftover greens/beans/grains or pasta in the fridge - chuck them in! I like to make a big batch and eat it in a different way each day - sometime parmesan croutons, other days I’ll use it as more of sauce for pasta. Either way, this is a very important recipe to have in your repertoire. You can find my cavolo nero version on p86 of my book, Let’s do Lunch.

*Speed this up by cooking your barley separately and stirring it in at the end.

ingredients

Serves 8

• 3 tbsp olive oil

  1 onion, chopped

  1 carrot, peeled and chopped

  2 celery sticks, chopped

  3 garlic cloves, chopped

  1 x 400g tin plum tomatoes, drained and rinsed

  120g pearl barley or spelt, rinsed 

  2 x 400g tins borlotti and/or cannellini beans

• 300g cavolo nero and/or savoy cabbage, stems removed and roughly chopped

  Extra-virgin olive oil, to serve

  Grated Parmesan, optional, to serve

  *Any leftover greens, pasta, beans or grains you might have in the fridge 
  

instructions

In a heavy pan over a medium-low heat, warm the oil and add onion, carrots, celery, garlic and a big pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes until the veg is completely soft and sweet.

Stir the tomatoes into the veg, breaking them up with your spoon as they go in, cooking for a further 5 minutes. Add the barley* and cover in plenty of water. Bring to a simmer for 25 minutes until tender. Stir in the beans and the cabbage and enough water to cover, and simmer until the cabbage is tender. Mash some of the beans with a fork to thicken the mix if you like. Add whatever cooked leftovers you might have now. Season to taste.

Drizzle each portion with plenty of olive oil and a little Parmesan if you like. Keeps for a week and will just get better and better