Vegetable and Pasta Soup

Winter is not shaking off its shackles just yet, so hang on to those carbs a bit longer and what better way than with this filling soup-stew like dish. Lots of ingredients but easy to make. The soup will become a family favourite in no time at all. I promise you.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon butter
3 small red onions, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 carrots, washed and cut into small dice
1 stick celery, finely chopped
125g (4 oz) winter root vegetables (celeriac, swede, parsnip, turnip) cut evenly into small dice
1 x 430ml tin chopped tomatoes
1.2 litres (2 pints) chicken stock
170g (6 oz) mixed soup pasta shapes
Handful flat-leaved parsley, roughly chopped
Freshly grated Parmesan to serve
Salt and pepper to taste
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

Heat the oil and butter together in a large soup pan taking care to not burn the butter. Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook for 3 – 4 minutes until the onions are starting to cook them throw in the garlic, give the pot a good stir and continue to cook carefully for a further three minutes. It is imperative that you do not burn the garlic or this will give the soup an awful burnt flavour you will not be able to disguise.

Add your chosen root vegetables to the pot, give them a good to stir to mix in the onions and garlic, raise the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, raise the heat high and add the stock. Bring the soup up to a gentle boil then lower the heat to keep it so and cook until the root vegetables are cooked through but not breaking up.

At this point you can turn the soup off the heat and finish the soup when you are ready to eat if needed.

If the soup is cold, bring the soup back to a boil, add your chosen pasta shapes and cook as directed on the packet.

Taste the soup and add a little salt and pepper to taste remembering you will be adding Parmesan at the end, so go easy.

To serve: warm six bowls (never serve hot soup into cold bowls or the soup will be too cool when served) ladle in the soup, sprinkle with the finely chopped parsley and finish with the freshly grated Parmesan and drizzle with fruity olive if liked. Add some crusty bread onto the side.

This soup does not freeze but you can keep it in the fridge for a couple of days.