Minestrone soup recipe
 This budget minestrone is the classic Italian soup made with cannellini beans and broken up spaghetti. Feel free to stir in extra vegetables, depending on what you have in the fridge. This is designed to be a low cost recipe. Each serving provides 300 kcal, 18.3g protein, 37.1g carbohydrate (of which 14g sugars), 5.2g fat (of which 1g saturates), 16.5g fibre and 1.85g salt. 1 tbsp olive oil 1 onion, chopped 2 carrots, chopped3 large celery sticks, chopped 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped2 tbsp tomato purée 400g tin chopped tomatoes1.2 litres/2 pints vegetable or chicken stock, made from stock cubes400g tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed100g/3½ dried spaghetti, broken into short lengths¼ head green cabbage, finely shreddedsalt and freshly ground black pepper 1 tbsp olive oil 1 onion, chopped 2 carrots, chopped 3 large celery sticks, chopped 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 2 tbsp tomato purée 400g tin chopped tomatoes 1.2 litres/2 pints vegetable or chicken stock, made from stock cubes 400g tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed 100g/3½ dried spaghetti, broken into short lengths ¼ head green cabbage, finely shredded salt and freshly ground black pepper Method Heat the olive oil in a large lidded saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery, season with a little salt and pepper and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the vegetables have softened. Add the garlic and fry for another minute. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for a further 3 minutes. Tip in the tomatoes and stock. Cover with a lid and bring slowly to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.Add the beans and pasta and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked. Add the cabbage and cook for another 2 minutes. If the soup is too thick, add some hot water to reach your preferred consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving. Heat the olive oil in a large lidded saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery, season with a little salt and pepper and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the vegetables have softened. Heat the olive oil in a large lidded saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery, season with a little salt and pepper and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the vegetables have softened. Add the garlic and fry for another minute. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for a further 3 minutes. Add the garlic and fry for another minute. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for a further 3 minutes. Tip in the tomatoes and stock. Cover with a lid and bring slowly to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Tip in the tomatoes and stock. Cover with a lid and bring slowly to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Add the beans and pasta and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked. Add the cabbage and cook for another 2 minutes. If the soup is too thick, add some hot water to reach your preferred consistency. Add the beans and pasta and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked. Add the cabbage and cook for another 2 minutes. If the soup is too thick, add some hot water to reach your preferred consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving. Recipe tips The minestrone is vegetarian, as long as you use vegetable stock. This recipe uses broken spaghetti as that's cheapest, but you can use whatever pasta you have in the cupboard. To make sure the finished soup looks it's best, take the time to cut the vegetables into evenly-sized pieces. In September 2023 this recipe was costed at an average of £3.97 when checking prices at four UK supermarkets. This recipe is designed to be made in conjunction with a low-cost store-cupboard, for more details click here to see how our budget recipes were costed.