As Autumn approaches don’t get caught in the rain, stay indoors where you can keep warm and dry. Cosy up by your AGA with a hearty bowl of Italian style vegetable soup to keep your insides as warm as your home.
Ingredients:
1 large leek, sliced
2 carrots, diced
1 onion, chopped
2 sticks celery, diced
1 potato, diced
1 courgette, diced
450g (1 lb) tomatoes, diced or use a can of chopped tomatoes
2 litres (3½ pints) water or stock
Piece of Parmesan cheese rind
Salt and black pepper
1 x 410g can of borlotti beans, drained
50g (1¾ oz) spinach leaves, sliced
75g (2½ oz) tiny pasta shapes, such as farfalline
Salt and black pepper
Makes a large pot of soup for the colder evenings using autumnal vegetables. If you do not have tiny pasta, break up some spaghetti into small pieces.
Method
Take a 9 litre AGA stockpot and put in the leek, carrots, onion, celery, potato, courgette, tomatoes, water or stock and a piece of Parmesan rind, season. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
2, 3 and 4-oven AGA
Transfer the covered stockpot to the Simmering Oven and cook for 1 hour. Conventional cooking: Simmer on a very gentle heat on the hotplate for 45-55 minutes. Add the drained borlotti beans, spinach leaves and pasta to the stockpot, stir and simmer for another 6-8 minutes. Remove the Parmesan rind and serve in bowls accompanied by crusty bread.
