Winter Minestrone Soup

Ingredients

• 1 bacon hock (approximately 750g)
• 2 litres water
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 peppercorns
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 stalks of celery, finely sliced
• 10cm leek, finely sliced
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 kumara, diced
• 250g butternut pumpkin, diced
• 1 large potato, diced
• 2 portobello mushrooms, finely sliced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 jar Maison Therese Tomato Chilli Pasta Sauce
• 1 cup mixed frozen peas and corn
• 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 large handfuls spinach
• ½ cup uncooked fusilli pasta

Serves 4

Method

1. Begin by placing the bacon hock in a large pot, covering the hock with the water – use more water if necessary to ensure the hock is fully submerged. Add the bay leaves and peppercorns and bring to a simmer. Leave to gently simmer for at least 3 hours, or until the bacon is falling off the bone. At this stage, lift the bacon hock out of the broth and leave to cool. Pour the broth through a fine sieve into a separate bowl, this will remove any impurities, and keep aside.
2. In another large pot, add a good glug of olive oil and bring to medium heat on the stove. Add the prepared onion, garlic, carrots, celery and leek. Add a pinch of salt and stir often until the onion is becoming translucent. Add in the apple cider vinegar followed by the kumara, butternut, potato and mushrooms. Add a little more olive oil if necessary and continue to stir over medium heat for 5 minutes. By this stage, the vegetables will be gaining a bit of colour and it is time to add the ground cumin and coriander
3. Pour in the stock from cooking the bacon hock. Leave to simmer for around 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are nice and soft, lower the heat.
4. While the soup is simmering, cook the pasta according to packet instructions and drain off the water, ready to add to the soup just before serving.
5. Add in the jar of Maison Therese Tomato Chilli Pasta Sauce, fill the empty jar halfway with water and shake the remaining sauce off the sides of the jar and add it into the soup.
6. Add in the mixed frozen peas and corn, the kidney beans, the spinach and the cooked pasta and season with salt and pepper to your liking.