Zesty Green Minestrone Soup
This is a gorgeously hearty minestrone soup that feels like pure goodness in a bowl! It is packed with lots of lovely nutrients from the fresh chicken stock and green veggies. And even better, it gives a boost of fibre and protein from the white beans. The fresh pesto and lemon added at the end gives this soup a zesty Spring flavour. You’ll be hooked!
This recipe is naturally gluten-free and is easy to make dairy-free or vegan (see switches in the notes below). You can blend it up before serving for kids and others who prefer a smooth soup. Serve with crusty bread.
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Zesty Green Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Onion
- 2 sticks Celery
- 500 ml Chicken Stock (fresh or use bone broth)
- 400 g White Beans (from a tin or jar)
- 100 g Peas (frozen)
- 65 g Savoy Cabbage
- 2 tbsp Pesto (fresh or jarred)
- 1 Lemon (zest only)
To serve:
- Parmesan cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Finely chop the onion and finely slice the celery.
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan.
- Sauté the onion and celery gently for 10 minutes until they are lovely and soft.
- Meanwhile finely slice the cabbage and set aside.
- Add the stock and drained white beans to the saucepan and bring to a simmer.
- Add the frozen peas and sliced cabbage and cook for 7-8 minutes until the cabbage is just cooked.
- Stir through the fresh pesto and lemon zest and serve straight away; grate over some fresh parmesan if wished.
Notes
- Replace the savoy cabbage with green or white cabbage or with spring greens, depending on what you have available.
- You can also add small cubes of potato, leftover rice or pasta and other white beans or chickpeas.
- The chicken stock can be replaced by a vegetable stock to make this soup plant-based. To make it entirely vegan, choose a vegan pesto and use yeast flakes instead of parmesan.
Per serving. Nutrition content in food is never consistent, so take these estimates with a pinch of salt! Also, our recipes tend to use low-GI carbs and sugars, so these values are not directly comparable with shop-bought UPFs.
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