Minestrone

I wanted to make a minestrone soup as it's getting warmer and this dish somehow feels like spring even though it's a soup, don't you think? I didn't consult many traditional recipes, but just wanted to make it my way or how I imagine a minestrone to be. 

I chose these lovely Haricot de Soissons as one ingredient, as I bought them a while ago and was waiting to use them in the right recipe. This turned out to be the very one. I also added puy lentils, alphabet pasta, carrots, tomatoes and many other my typical soup ingredients.

Do you have a good minestrone recipe? What vegetables do you usually add to it? I think this one was pretty good, but I'm sure that I can variate my recipe when I make the soup more often.

Ingredients

½ cup dried Haricot de Soissons (large white beans)

½ cup dried puy lentils

1 cup alphabetti pasta

1 carrot

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

2 tbsp olive oil

8 small tomatoes

1 vegetable stock cube

800 ml – 1 l water

Fresh basil leaves

Salt and black pepper to taste

Method

Soak the beans overnight and then cook them until they are done. Also cook the puy lentils and the alphabet pasta separately. These will all be added to the broth later.

Chop the carrot, onion and garlic finely and start cooking them in olive oil in a saucepan. Add the tomatoes and after a few minutes the vegetable stock cube and water. Let simmer until the flavours have blended nicely and also add the beans, lentils and pasta.

Season with fresh basil leaves and salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm and enjoy!

Your VegHog