Toasted Special

This is a tasty and chunky soup which takes 20 minutes to prepare from start to finish. I don’t add any pasta, but you could add some spaghetti or macaroni if you like.

Ingredient

• 2 leeks, halved and sliced (or use 2 onions, chopped)
• 2 sticks of celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• selection of vegetables, chopped (I used a red pepper, 1/2 courgette, some green beans and a handful of frozen peas, but you can please yourself)
• 1 litre chicken stock
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 400g can borlotti beans
• fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tbsp pesto
• parmesan cheese, grated

Method

1. Fry the onion, celery and garlic in some olive oil for 2/3 mins. Add a good splash of the veg stock, cover, and cook until the celery has softened.
2. Add the remaining stock, tomato purée, beans and vegetables, then season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Simmer for about 5 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
3. Stir through the pesto then check the seasoning, adjust if necessary. Garnish with the Parmesan cheese.

Serves 2-3.