During the last couple of weeks I have been cooking and eating everything I desire, not giving calories a second thought. However, the problem with being half Italian, is that I may have the Italian mamma gene and need to be careful not to over indulge incase I end up being ’round’ like an Italian mamma. Don’t get me wrong there is nothing wrong with that and will embrace it when the time is right. However, until I can use pregnancy as a reason for the gains, I like to change my diet up to help keep the pounds off (as well as hitting the gym). This week is WINTER WARMER SOUP week. I’ll be cooking up a selection of soups to show you how sexy Italian soups can be. First up, is a Ligurian vegetable minestrone served with their infamous basil pesto.
Ingredients (6 people or 6 bowls)
3-4 potatoes, peeled & diced
1 courgette, sliced into rounds
125g frozen peas
125g frozen broad beans
1 leak, thinly sliced
100g Kale, shredded
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 x 400g tin cannellini beans
100g home-made basil pesto
80g Pasta (for minestrone, i.e. ditalini, orzo)
Method
- Add all the vegetables including the parsley into a big sauce pan with enough water to cover the vegetables.
- Bring the pan to the boil, season with salt & pepper and then simmer for at least 30 minutes.
- At this point add the cannellini beans.
- Finally, when your ready to serve the soup, add the pasta into the vegetable soup until it’s dente.
- Serve with the basil pesto & Parmesan.
