Minestrone is an Italian classic, loved for its simple flavour which blends pasta, beans, tomatoes, and vegetables with Italian herbs.
However, like most soups, making it at home is a labour of love that requires a long list of ingredients and a fair amount of time.
This simplified recipe makes it possible to whip up in a mere 10 minutes with preparation and cooking time included.
Sharing a recipe for “minestrone in minutes”, the BBC Good Food Team revealed the speedy shortcuts anyone can try at home.
They said: “Whip up a hearty bowl of soup in next to no time, perfect for a quick lunch or warming supper.”
The dish is healthy, vegetarian, and low in calories, at 162kcal per portion. It’s also surprisingly low in salt, at 0.54g per serving, unlike most minestrone dishes.
Moreover, the recipe calls for just seven ingredients including pesto and frozen vegetables to minimise the cooking time and need for a cocktail of herbs and spices.
BBC Good Food fans who have tried the recipe praised the “surprisingly tasty” results, noting that there is “no chopping involved”. One person suggested adding a tin of black beans or chickpeas for extra protein and swapping pesto for a teaspoon of Italian herbs if they don’t have it on hand.
Ingredients
1l hot vegetable stock
400g tin chopped tomato
100g thin spaghetti, broken into short lengths
350g frozen mixed vegetable
Four tbsp pesto
Drizzle of olive oil
Coarsely grated vegetarian parmesan-style cheese, to serve
Method
Take a medium-sized saucepan and fill it with the chopped tomatoes and the stock.
Bring the ingredients to a boil before adding the broken-up spaghetti pieces and leaving them to cook for six minutes, or until done.
A few minutes before the pasta is ready, add the frozen vegetables and bring the liquid to a boil.
Simmer for two more minutes until everything is cooked, then serve piping hot in bowls drizzled with pesto and oil finished with a sprinkling of parmesan.
