30 mins
Not Too Tricky
serves 4
About the recipe
I’m celebrating the humble freezer here to create a hearty bowl of steaming veg soup that’s easy on the wallet, properly satisfying and packed with flavour. Take this as a principle recipe, swapping in your favourite frozen veg as you see fit – check out the Easy Swaps section for inspo.
Ingredients
olive oil
500g fresh or frozen chopped mixed onion, carrot & celery
1.5 litres fresh or frozen chicken or vegetable stock
300g frozen peas
200g frozen broad beans
200g frozen broccoli florets
250g fresh lasagne sheets (frozen)
extra virgin olive oil
1 frozen red chilli (optional)
BATCH-IT-UP PESTO
200g Parmesan cheese
2 big bunches of fresh basil (60g each)
1 clove of garlic
50g pine nuts
100ml extra virgin olive oil
Top Tip
If you want to freeze any leftover pesto for a rainy day, the easiest thing to do is roll the pesto up in greaseproof paper to make a log, then scrunch the ends like a cracker. Pop into the freezer for 2 hours, then, before it gets too hard, remove, unwrap and slice into the appropriate number of portions. Re-shape, re-roll and re-wrap, then pop it back into the freezer – it’ll be good for 3 months. Or you can also decant into a spare ice cube tray, if you’ve got one. To use from frozen, simply defrost overnight in the fridge, or whack it straight into a pan to melt.
Method
- Place a large casserole pan on a medium heat. Drizzle in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, stir in the chopped mixed veg and cook for 10 minutes, until softened and caramelised, stirring occasionally.
- For the pesto, break the Parmesan into a food processor (keeping the rind for later). Rip in the basil leaves, discarding only the tougher base of the stalks. Peel and add the garlic, tip in the pine nuts and pour in the oil. Blitz until fairly fine in consistency, then put aside for later.
- Stir the frozen peas, broad beans and broccoli into the veg pan. Add the stock and bring it up to the boil (allow it to melt first if you’re using frozen), then add the reserved Parmesan rind, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Erratically snap in the lasagne sheets, stir through the soup, then simmer for 3 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente and the veg has softened.
- Remove the softened Parmesan rind to a board, then finely chop it and stir through the soup – it’ll add an incredible depth of flavour. Taste, then season to perfection with salt and black pepper.
- Divide between bowls, then dollop over a little pesto (see leftover tip), drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and finely grate over as much frozen red chilli as you dare, if using.
- Feel free to swap in your favourite frozen veg here. Think cauliflower, edamame, leeks – take your pick! A handful of fresh baby spinach or asparagus would also be delicious.
- Swap out the lasagne sheets for a pouch of pre-cooked rice, fresh or frozen gnocchi, or even hunks of bread for Pappa al pomodoro vibes.
- Dried lasagne sheets, your favourite pasta shapes or any odds and ends from your dried pasta packets would also work in place of the frozen fresh sheets – you’ll just need to simmer them for a little longer, until al dente.
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