Minestrone Soup

Ingredients

• 2 rashers of unsmoked streaky bacon, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 sticks celery, chopped
• 1 litre chicken or veg stock
• 1 tin cannelloni/borlotti beans
• bayleaf and/or sprig fresh rosemary
• large handful spring greens
• grated Parmesan to taste

Method

Brown the bacon in a large pan. Add onion, garlic and celery. Sauté until soft. Add 2 sprigs fresh rosemary and/or a bayleaf. Add the stock and beans. Simmer for 25 minutes. Then remove bayleaf and rosemary – and roughly mash the beans. Add the washed, chopped spring greens and cook for further 7 minutes – or until tender. Serve sprinkled with parmesan cheese. You can substitute an extra onion for the bacon in this recipe if you are vegetarian.