Culinary criminal

Geez it’s cold in Canberra. Brrrrrr. Soup weather. So I thought I’d share a recipe for curried minestrone. Despite one of my Facebook friends describing the recipe I posted yesterday as looking “kinda disgusting”. (I always feel it’s best to get straight back on the horse.) I know “curried” minestrone sounds like a culinary crime, but the curry powder just gives a nice zing to the soup. I’ve made this old favourite twice in the past few weeks. It’s a handy way to use all the leftover veggies in the crisper – you can add  any combo if you don’t have the ones listed – plus the cannellini beans and pasta make it a hearty meal in itself. Forgive the dodgy photo, winter is playing havoc with the lighting in my kitchen. Everything looks all murky and yellow. But I promise the soup is yum.

RECIPE: CURRIED MINESTRONE

Olive oil

2 small onions, finely chopped

1 tablespoon of curry powder

1 litre of chicken stock

500ml of water

1 stalk of celery

2 carrots, diced

2 zucchinis, diced

100g green beans, chopped

1 large potato, diced

8 mini brussel sprouts, quartered

1 red capsicum, finely diced

800g can crushed tomatoes

400g can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup soup pasta

3 tablespoons of fresh basil, chopped

Grated parmesan cheese

METHOD: Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan. Cook onion until soft, add curry powder and fry one minute. Add all the remaining ingredients except the cannellini beans, pasta and basil to the saucepan. Cook over a low heat for about 1 hour. Add the pasta and cannellini beans and simmer until pasta is tender. Stir through basil. Serve bowls of soup sprinkled with parmesan.