Lunch · Dinner · Italian

Big-batch minestrone

Name: Big-batch minestrone
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 Brown onion; 2 Carrots; 2 sticks Celery; 2 cloves Garlic; 1 Courgette; 1 tin Chopped tomatoes; 1 tin Cannellini beans, drained; 100g Orzo; 100g Baby spinach; 2 cubes Vegetable stock cube, in 1.5 litres water; 2 tsp Dried mixed herbs; 2 tbsp Olive oil; 1 tbsp Tomato purée

Mostly veg, a handful of pasta and one very big pan. Lunch sorted until Friday.

Start to finish: 1 hr
Hands-on: 31 min
In the fridge: 4 days
Freezes: Yes

VeganContains gluten, celery

Ingredients

4 portions

1Brown onion
2Carrots
2 sticksCelery
2 clovesGarlic
1Courgette
1 tinChopped tomatoes
1 tinCannellini beans, drained
100gOrzo
100gBaby spinach
2 cubesVegetable stock cube, in 1.5 litres water
2 tspDried mixed herbs
2 tbspOlive oil
1 tbspTomato purée

Plus salt, pepper and water.

Method

1
Finely chop the onion, carrots and celery.
2
Warm the oil in your biggest pan and soften the chopped veg with a pinch of salt for 10 minutes, stirring now and then.
10 min, mostly hands-off
3
Meanwhile, crush the garlic and dice the courgette. Crumble the stock cubes into 1.5 litres of boiling water.
4
Add the garlic, courgette, purée and herbs to the pan and stir for 2 minutes. Pour in the tomatoes and stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
20 min, mostly hands-off
5
Add the drained cannellini and the orzo and simmer for 10 minutes more, stirring so the pasta does not stick. Stir in the spinach until it wilts.
12 min, mostly hands-off
6
Season well. Leave to cool a little, then ladle into tubs.

On the day

Microwave for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring halfway, until piping hot. The orzo keeps drinking the broth, so by midweek it is more stew than soup and the pasta is softer. Add a splash of water and call it rustic.

Cook’s tip

If you are freezing some, ladle those portions out before the orzo goes in. Cook a little fresh pasta into them when you reheat.