Healthy Minestrone Recipe

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Prep: 20 min
Cook: 35 min
Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 tsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbs no-added-salt tomato paste
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1 carrot, diced
1 potato, diced
1/2 zucchini, diced
2 x 400 g cans no-added-salt diced tomatoes
2 cups salt-reduced chicken or vegetable stock
1 x 400 g can no-added-salt red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup risoni (rice-shaped pasta)
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup frozen peas
6 tbs chunky basil pesto dip, to serve, optional
6 slices wholemeal or multigrain bread, to serve

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Method

Place a large pot on a medium heat, heat oil and cook the onions for 3-5 minutes, until soft.
Add garlic and tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
Turn up to a high heat and add celery, carrots, potato and zucchini and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring.
Add tomatoes, stock, 2 cups water and kidney beans and bring to the boil.
Simmer with the lid on for 20 minutes
Add risoni and stir well. Cook with the lid off for 8 minutes. If using a different pasta shape, cook for 1-2 minutes less than suggested cook time as they keep cooking in the hot soup.
Turn off the heat, stir in the parmesan, then the frozen peas.
Serve with a tablespoon of basil pesto dip and a slice of grainy bread if desired.

Variation:

Use vegies you have on hand! Beans, spinach, sweet potato, kale and broccoli are all great options.
Try swapping the 1 cup risoni for ½ cup pearl barley. Add the pearl barley with the tomatoes and stock in step 4. You’ll need to add at least an extra cup of water or stock (or enjoy a much thicker soup!).
To make this dish gluten-free use gluten-free pasta.
To make this dish vegan and dairy-free leave out the Parmesan cheese (or use a little nutritional yeast in its place).

Comment:

If preparing in advance (or to freeze), leave out the pasta. Then add the pasta when reheating. This way you don't get soggy pasta and very thick soup.

Healthy tip!

On a budget? If fresh produce is not available or is too expensive, try canned or frozen fruit and veg!

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Nutrition Information


	per serving	per 100g
Energy	1889 kJ	325 kJ
	451 Cal	78 Cal
Protein	19.1 g	3.3 g
Fat, total	14.2 g	2.4 g
— saturated	3.2 g	0.5 g
Carbohydrate	53.7 g	9.2 g
— sugars	13.2 g	2.3 g
Sodium	918 mg	158 mg
Fibre	13.3 g	2.3 g