Hearty Minestrone Soup

You will also need a very large saucepan or stockpot.

You can either blitz the vegetables, using the pulse setting of a food processor, or roughly chop them by hand. Put all of the vegetables, plus the garlic and olive oil into the saucepan and cook over low to medium heat, with the lid on, for about 10 minutes, making sure to give it the occasional stir.

Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and vegetable stock and bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Add the broken spaghetti and cook for a further 10 minutes. Then add the butter beans and cook until heated through and slightly soft, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve scattered with your choice of cheese.

Recipe barely adapted from Good Food Magazine .