- 4 strips bacon
- 3 carrots (roughly chopped)
- 3 sticks celery (sliced)
- 1 onion (roughly chopped)
- 6 garlic cloves (crushed)
- 2 TSP dried Italian herb mix
- 2 TBS tomato purée
- 14 OZ canned ptite diced tomatoes
- 2 QT good-quality chicken stock
- 14 OZ canned cannellini beans in water (rinsed and drained)
- 3½ OZ frozen cut green beans
- 4 OZ dried pasta
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 OZ Parmesan (grated) (optional)
- Put a large frying pan over a low heat, add the bacon and cook for 10 minutes until crisp, golden and the fat has run from the meat. Transfer onto a plate.
- Tip the carrots, celery and onion into the bacon fat and fry for two minutes before adding the garlic, herbs and tomato purée. Cook for 1 minute, then add the tomatoes and most of the stock. Bring to the boil. Carefully transfer the soup to a slow cooker, cover with the lid, then cook on high for 4 hours until the vegetables are tender. Alternately you can cook using an Instant Pot for 10 minutes of high pressure.
- Stir the beans and pasta into the soup, adding the rest of the stock if it seems overly thick. Cover and cook for 30 minutes until the pasta is tender. Check seasoning, then serve in bowls with plenty of Parmesan.
Yields 8 servings.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/slow_cooker_minestrone_24914