When is a soup not a soup? This is a brilliant, filling winter warmer and uses lots of ingredients that tend to lurk. Not only is it absolutely delicious, getting better each time you heat it, but its also packed with all the vitamins and minerals you need to combat those nasty lurgies. It is also low in fat and cheap to make.
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 cup parsley (half a bunch; I just chop down from the top until I get to mainly stalks)
8 rashers smoked streaky bacon (or 200g pancetta)
2 celery stalks
2 carrots
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1 tin chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 litres stock (chicken or veg, from cube is fine)
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1 cup small pasta (or spaghetti broken up)
1 cup frozen peas or beans
1/2 cabbage (or any greens, but remove tough stalks)
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grated parmesan to serve
Chop onion, garlic, parsley, bacon, celery and carrots into similar size pieces and add to a large pan with the oil on a medium heat. Stir occasionally for around 15 mins; if it starts to stick, turn down the heat or continue to the next step.
Add tomatoes, puree and stock. Leave to simmer for an hour. Shred and rinse the cabbage.
Add the pasta, peas and cabbage. Stir and check the liquid levels, there should be enough to cover the cabbage when you press it down, if not, add more hot water. Cover and leave to simmer again for 20 mins, stirring occasionally. You can simmer this for longer if you like. The more it cooks, the better it gets. I just get terribly hungry by this point.
Serve in bowls with grated parmesan and black pepper on the side. Be warned, this is truly addictive (and atomically hot when you first serve it). And you won’t need bread on the side. I promise!
