Gluten Free Minestrone

Parve, Vegan Dairy Free, Naturally Gluten Free

Serves 8

This freezes well prior to the pasta stage. You can vary the vegetables and I often use bits and pieces left in the fridge but you must of course have tomatoes, onions, carrots and peppers to obtain that recognisable minestrone flavour

100g (4oz) onions
100g (4oz) Florence fennel
200g (8oz) carrots
Small chilli – de seeded
200g (8oz) peppers
200g (8oz) turnips
150g (6oz) white cabbage
200g (8oz) soft tomatoes
400g (14oz) tin chopped tomatoes or passata
Good squeeze tomato paste
Seasoning
½ tsp dried bouquet garni
Olive oil
1 litre (35fl oz) vegetable stock
Either 2 sticks celery diced or 10 coriander stems
Fresh basil – if available or some pesto
Approx 90g (3oz) (1 cup) cooked rice noodles – broken up beforehand into small pieces or if you can get it tiny g/f pasta

Dice the onion and the fennel and fry gently in the olive oil in a large saucepan until softened (5 minutes approx).

Dice the rest of the vegetables – starting with the peppers and chilli and celery (coriander). Add the pepper mix to the pan and stir, cook for a further minute. Now add the rest of the vegetables, stir till coated with oil.

Open and pour in a tin of tomatoes,the stock and tomato paste. Season and add the bouquet garni, cook gently for at least half an hour.

In a separte pan cook some gluten free small pasta, rinse.

If you are not using all at once then take out the soup you wish to NOT serve and put in the fridge/freezer when cool. Why - because if you add the pasta to what you wish to serve another time it will quite likely go into mush and make the soup very starchy.

Just before serving add the pasta, heat through and serve garnished with a little fresh basil if available or a little pesto if not.

Minestrone with Gluten Free Pasta