The River Cafe's winter minestrone

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1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and slowly fry the carrots, onion and celery until soft and dark. This will take about 20 minutes but it's worth it - the slow cooking gives a lovely taste. Add the garlic, chard stalks and half the parsley, and stir to prevent sticking. Stir in the tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes or until reduced.
2. Add half the Swiss chard leaves, half the cavolo nero, three-quarters of the beans, and the boiling stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat. Simmer for 30 minutes. Pour in more stock if needed - don't add too much - it should be thick.
3. Add the remaining Swiss chard and cavolo nero and blanch briefly so they remain green and crisp. Season when slightly cooled.
4. Purée the remaining cannellini beans coarsely in a blender with some of the cooking liquid. Add to the soup - it should be very green. Stir in the herbs and serve hot with parmesan and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Per serving

263 kcalories, protein 17g, carbohydrate 27g, fat 10 g, saturated fat 2g, fibre 9g, salt 2.64 g

Latest comments and suggestions

• hayleytaylor

  21 November 2007

  hayleytaylor rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Wonderful winter's day warmer. Very easy to cook.

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• neiljohn

  27 December 2007

  neiljohn rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Excellent - It really does taste better after a day and is great on a winters day!

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• FOod

  17 March 2008

  FOod rated this recipe

  

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• Neil

  27 March 2008

  Neil commented on this recipe

  joy

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• kizmax

  19 September 2008

  kizmax rated and commented on this recipe

  

  easy to make, tastes great, brilliant dish when its cold and wet outside, light a fire and eat this yummy soup !

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• avrilbaigent

  02 November 2008

  avrilbaigent rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Made this overnight in slow cooker. Did it with borlotti beans - soaked them first during the day, then boiled 10 mins. Added beans to rest of ingredients (except cavelo nero) and left to cook. Just added cavelo nero next morning. Was lovely for lunch, even better once it had been in the fridge for a day or two.

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• ChloeQ

  18 November 2008

  ChloeQ commented on this recipe

  Absolutely delicious. I added a couple of tablespoons of macaroni as well, which was a nice touch. Agree that it gets even better after leaving it overnight.

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• ChloeQ

  18 November 2008

  ChloeQ rated this recipe

  

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• RachyC

  24 November 2008

  RachyC commented on this recipe

  Thanks for the tip ChloeQ. Added the macaroni and you were spot on with that one. lovely and warming on a cold winters night :)

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• ChloeQ

  24 November 2008

  ChloeQ commented on this recipe

  Anytime RachyC, if you ever want any more advice, visit my homepage - its www.chloestricksandtips.com - possibilities for minestrone soup are endless!

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• JoJo

  26 November 2008

  JoJo rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Fantastic, and much more flexible than you might think. I've added pasta instead of beans - it was even better. Yum!

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• Agatha

  31 March 2009

  Agatha commented on this recipe

  Would love to make this! Can anyone tell me what they did with the garlic?

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Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 medium carrots , roughly chopped
• 1 large red onion , coarsely chopped
• 1 head of celery , coarsely chopped, keeping the leaves
• 1 head of garlic , cloves peeled
• 1kg Swiss chard , leaves shredded and stalks roughly chopped
• a good handful of parsley , finely chopped
• 400g can peeled plum tomatoes , drained of most of their juices, roughly chopped
• 1kg cavolo nero , stalks removed, leaves shredded (or savoy cabbage)
• 410g can cannellini beans , drained and rinsed
• about 700ml boiling chicken or vegetable stock
• a few sprigs of winter herbs such as thyme or sage, chopped
• freshly grated parmesan
• extra-virgin olive oil , for drizzling

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Difficulty and servings

Serves 5

Easily doubled

Preparation and cooking times

Vegetarian

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 medium carrots , roughly chopped
• 1 large red onion , coarsely chopped
• 1 head of celery , coarsely chopped, keeping the leaves
• 1 head of garlic , cloves peeled
• 1kg Swiss chard , leaves shredded and stalks roughly chopped
• a good handful of parsley , finely chopped
• 400g can peeled plum tomatoes , drained of most of their juices, roughly chopped
• 1kg cavolo nero , stalks removed, leaves shredded (or savoy cabbage)
• 410g can cannellini beans , drained and rinsed
• about 700ml boiling chicken or vegetable stock
• a few sprigs of winter herbs such as thyme or sage, chopped
• freshly grated parmesan
• extra-virgin olive oil , for drizzling

Per serving

263 kcalories, protein 17g, carbohydrate 27g, fat 10 g, saturated fat 2g, fibre 9g, salt 2.64 g

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