Tom Kerridge’s Minestrone: a vegetable-forward, freezable family soup

Anyone who wants a vegetable-heavy, low-effort one-pot meal that stretches across several days. It suits cooks who like batch-cooking because it chills and freezes well. If you need lower salt, start with reduced-salt stock and check the salt content after simmering.

Ingredients at a glance (serves 4–6)

• Splash of olive oil
• 200 g streaky bacon or lean back-bacon, rind removed, finely chopped
• 2 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 6 celery stalks, trimmed and roughly chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 onions, roughly chopped
• 2 potatoes (e.g., Maris Peer), roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 bouquet garni (rosemary sprig, bay leaf, thyme sprig tied together)
• 0.75 litres reduced-salt vegetable stock
• 3 courgettes (zucchini), trimmed and roughly chopped
• 1 large handful soup pasta (small shapes)

To serve: a handful fresh flatleaf parsley, finely chopped, and 100 g Parmesan, finely grated.

Nutrition per portion (when served as six)

1. 1Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Fry the chopped bacon for 2–3 minutes until cooked and starting to brown.
2. 2Add carrots, celery, garlic and onions. Fry 4–5 minutes, stirring often, until they soften.
3. 3Add the potatoes and fry another 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally until they begin to soften.
4. 4Stir in tomato purée and cook for 1 minute. Add the chopped tomatoes, bouquet garni and reduced-salt stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer gently for 30 minutes.

1. 1Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with parsley and grated Parmesan.

• Soup pasta is smaller than regular pasta so it stays an ingredient in the broth rather than soaking it dry. You can also crush mixed leftover pasta in a bag with a rolling pin to get roughly matching sizes.
• Use seasonal vegetables to change the soup and keep costs down. The recipe works as a base for many vegetable combinations.
• Make a big batch and freeze portions for easy future meals.

Serve with grated Parmesan and chopped parsley. For a bean-rich version, add a can of drained beans during the final simmer (reader comments mention adding mixed beans in other minestrone-style soups). Omit bacon to make the soup fully vegetarian and increase umami with extra tomatoes or a splash of soy sauce if desired.