REcipesshopaboutcontact

Pesto Minestrone with Salty Bacon Crumbs

This Pesto Minestrone Soup with Salty Bacon Crumbs is such a nice switch-up for your evening meal. It's comforting, satisfying and filling, and ridiculously easy to rustle together.

Prep:

5

minutes

Cook:

30

minutes

TOtal:

35

minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 1 large leek, sliced into rings
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 240g chickpeas
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • Half bunch of fresh basil
  • 150g frozen peas
  • 125g macaroni pasta
  • 1.2L vegetable stock
  • 1 lemon, zested and juiced
  • 2 tbsp apple-cider vinegar
  • 3-4 tbsp basil pesto
  • 6 rashers veggie bacon, chopped into cubes
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1 tbsp garlic granules
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Additional: Parmesan Cheese, Fresh Basil Leaves

Instructions

  1. In a large saucepan, sauté the sliced onion and leeks in a tablespoon of olive oil over a medium heat for roughly 10-15 minutes, or until both the onions and leeks have slightly softened. Add in the chopped garlic, chickpeas, dried thyme, dried oregano and fresh basil leaves and mix until everything is combined.
  2. Pour in the vegetable stock and apple-cider vinegar, and add in the macaroni pasta. Cook until the pasta is al dente, and then stir through the frozen peas, lemon juice and zest, fresh pesto and season with salt and pepper. Leave to cook gently for a further five minutes.
  3. In a separate saucepan, heat the bacon cubes in the remaining olive oil and add the dried basil and garlic granules. Season with plenty of salt and cook until the cubes of bacon turn golden brown.
  4. Ladle up the minestrone soup and sprinkle over the bacon crumbs on top. Finish with a slightly grating of parmesan cheese and a sprinkling of fresh basil leaves and enjoy.