Pasta & Bean Soup
A delicious Pasta & Bean Soup in 20 minutes!
Ingredients
Pasta & Bean Soup
Serves 4-6
- 3 tbsp cooking olive oil
- 2 celery sticks, trimmed and finely chopped
- 100 g/31/2 oz prosciutto di speck, cut in pieces
- 1 red chili, deseed and finely chopped
- 2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 2.5cm/1 in cubes
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- 3 ripe plum tomatoes, skinned and chopped
- 1x400g / cans borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 litre vegetable or chicken or stock
- 100g pasta shapes
- large handful basil leaves, torn
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- shredded basil leaves to garnish
- crusty bread, to serve
Preparation Method |
Pasta & Bean Soup
- Heat cooking olive oil in a heavy cooking pan, add the celery and prosciutto and cook gently for 6-8 minutes, or until softened. At the chopped chili and potato cubes, cook for 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic to the chili and potato mixture and cook for 1 minute. Add the chopped tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in two-thirds of the beans, then pour in the chicken or vegetable stock and bring to a boil.
- Add the pasta shapes to the soup, stop and return it to a simmering point. Cook the pasta for about 10 minutes, or until ‘al dente’.
- Meanwhile, place the remaining beans in a food processor or blender and blend with enough of the soup stock to make a smooth, thinnish puree.
- When the pasta is cooked, stir in the pureed beans with the torn basil. Season the Pasta & Bean Soup to taste with salt and black pepper. Ladle into serving bowls, garnish with shredded basil and serve immediately with plenty of crusty bread.
