A deep, vegetable-heavy minestrone built on a slowly softened onion, carrot and celery base, finished with cannellini beans and small gluten-free pasta shapes.
Prep
20 mins
Cook
50 mins
Servings
6
Per serving
£1.10
Difficulty
easy
Minestrone is only as good as its beginning, so this version spends a patient fifteen minutes on the soffritto before anything else goes in. The pasta is cooked directly in the soup at the end so it releases its starch and thickens the broth.
Warm the olive oil in a large heavy pan over a low heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery with a pinch of the salt and cook very gently for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until everything is soft and sweet with no colour at all.
Resist the urge to speed this up. A browned soffritto makes a harsher soup; a slow one gives the sweetness that carries the whole pot.
Add the garlic and cook for another minute, then stir in the tomato puree and let it fry for a minute until it darkens.
Pour in the chopped tomatoes and the stock. Bring up to a simmer, add the remaining salt and the pepper, and cook uncovered for 20 minutes.
Add the diced courgettes and the drained cannellini beans. Simmer for a further 10 minutes, until the courgette is tender but still holding its shape.
Stir in the shredded cavolo nero and the gluten-free pasta. Simmer for the time given on the pasta packet, usually 8 to 11 minutes, stirring more often than you would for wheat pasta so it does not settle and stick.
Gluten-free pasta keeps softening in hot liquid, so pull it while it still has a little bite. If you plan on leftovers, cook the pasta separately and add it to each bowl instead.
Taste and adjust the salt. Tear in the basil, let the soup sit for two minutes off the heat, and serve in deep bowls with a thread of olive oil over each one.