Meet Ben, Our Group Head Chef!
Bens go to dish for this month is his hearty Minestrone Soup;
Ben has put together his ‘how to’ and recipe for this delicious creation, one that will keep you feeling warm and toasty in these chillier months.
If you’re in the vicinity of Peoples Park Café in Dun Laoghaire, pop in for a bowl and soak up the beautiful garden surrounds.
Hearty Minestrone Soup
Few savoury dishes traverse the seasons like a hearty minestrone soup. A cheap, easy to put together dish that serves up equally well as a delicious warming lunch served with crispy baguette, or for entertaining.
The fundamentals of a minestrone is a brothy, chunky, rustic soup, typically using smoked pancetta, pasta and beans. A protein rich, low fat dish that you’ll have most of the ingredients in your cupboard.
- Onion (Diced)
- Carrots (Diced)
- Garlic (Chopped)
- Pancetta (Or streaky rashers)
- Tinned Beans
- Tinned Chopped Tomato
- Herbs
- Pasta (Preferably Broken up Spaghetti)
Diced smoked pancetta is available in most supermarkets, this will add plenty of flavour to your soup. Cook the pancetta or bacon in a pot in a little olive oil until nicely browned, then add the onion and garlic, cooking gently until softened.
Add the tinned chopped tomato, and about 1 ltr of water. Bring to a boil and add the rinsed tinned beans, broken up pasta, chopped garlic and any other vegetables you may have. Kale works pertiularly well, as does baby spinach, green beans, fennel, cabbage or whatever you may have. Fresh parsley, basil, thyme, chives work great but dried will work, and going without is no problem at all. A little fresh chilli gives a great kick!
Season to taste, and serve
