Recipe: Tuscan-style hearty vegetable soup

Hearty, wholesome and packed with flavour, this soup will keep the winter chill away. Photo / Fresh Media

The evenings are starting to get chilly, and that means it’s the start of soup season. This traditional vegetable soup uses a packet of dried vegetable soup mix, which includes lentils and barley as a ready-made flavour base. You can throw everything into the slow cooker in the morning (or even prep it the night before) and come home to a delicious hot meal.

Tuscan-style hearty vegetable soup

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 210g packet vegetable soup mix (one with dried pulses and grains included)

1 bacon hock

1 large onion, diced

1 stick celery, sliced

1 large carrot, diced

2 small courgettes, diced

2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

1 sprig fresh rosemary, leaves chopped

3-4 fresh sage leaves or 1/4 tsp dried

1-2 bay leaves

2 400g tins of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

125g mini tomatoes (baby Roma)

100g Tuscan kale leaves, torn (or use spinach)

2 Tbsp white wine vinegar

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

To serve

Parmesan cheese, grated

Pesto (optional)

Crusty sourdough bread

Method

1. Pour 8 cups of boiling water into a large slow cooker bowl. Stir in the soup mix. Add the bacon hock, onion, celery, carrot, courgette and herbs. Cover and cook on high for 3½ hours or low for 5 hours.
2. Remove the bacon hock from the soup and shred the meat. Add the shredded meat, cannellini beans, baby tomatoes and kale to the slow cooker and continue to cook for another 30-45 minutes.
3. Add the vinegar (this adds some brightness to the flavour), taste the soup, then season with salt and pepper. Make sure you taste it before adding salt as the bacon hock may make it salty enough.
4. Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, grated Parmesan and a drop of pesto (optional), accompanied by crusty sourdough bread.

NOTE: This soup freezes well, so it’s worth making the full amount, even if you have a smaller family. Pop some in the freezer for a night when you need a really quick dinner solution.

– fresh.co.nz