Smokey Jo’s Hearty Minestrone Soup Recipe

We love a warming minestrone soup.  This recipe is from Jo’s Mum from her days living in Italy. The trick is to remember the 7p’s – passata, parmesan, potatoes, parsley, pulses, peas and pasta!

A great way to use up leftovers of Christmas Ham

Serves 4

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Ingredients

200g Honey Glazed Free Range Ham
400ml chicken/ham/turkey/game stock
100g potatoes peeled & cubed
100g small pasta (macaroni/conchigliette/ditali piccoli)
100g frozen peas
1 tin borlotti beans/cannellini beans
1 large carrot, peeled & diced
1 parmesan with rind
2 celery sticks, diced
1 large onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, grated
1/2 jar of tomato passata or chopped tomatoes
4 tbsp Fino Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 bay leaves
A handful of chopped parsley (keep finely chopped stalks separately)

Soften the carrot, celery and onion in a pan with the Fino Olive Oil. Add the garlic and chopped parsley stalks cook for a few minutes.

Then add passata, stock, parmesan rind, cubed potato and the bay leaves then simmer until potato nearly cooked.

Add the pasta and after 5 minutes the beans and the diced Honey Glazed Ham, return to simmer adding more stock if needed.

 Finally add the peas and return to simmer by which time they will be cooked.

Finish with parsley and extra grated parmesan and serve with fresh buttered Sourdough bread.

Enjoy!