A tasty and hearty one pot meal of vegetables, beans, and pasta in a thick broth of tomato, garlic and herbs.
Infinitely adaptable to what's available, this winter Minestrone includes carrots, potatoes, and kale, but during summer you can swap in courgettes, fresh ripe tomatoes instead of tinned and include lots of fresh basil.
Put the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
When hot, stir in the chopped pancetta or bacon and cook until the fat is golden.
Turn the heat down to medium and stir in the chopped onion and celery, seasoning with a small pinch of salt and a grind of pepper. Cook, stirring often, until starting to colour (approx. 10 - 12 min).
Stir in the diced carrots, potato, and chopped garlic and cook for another minute or two.
Add the drained beans, the rosemary, thyme, sage, basil and oregano, along with another pinch of salt and grind of pepper then stir well to combine.
Stir in the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, 1 tsp of the sugar if using, and all but 1 handful of the chopped kale.
Add 850 ml of the stock. This will make a thick soup: you can add a more later if you decide to thin it. You may also need extra liquid if you plan to add more than 40 g of pasta.
Put on a lid, turn up the heat to bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer.
Cook for 12 - 15 minutes or until the vegetables are almost tender.
Taste and add more seasoning if needed.
Chop the remaining handful of kale finely and add it to the pot along with most of the parsley (save a little for garnishing), plus the pasta.
Stir well then put the lid back on. Leave to simmer another 6 - 10 minutes (stirring occasionally so the pasta doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot) or until the pasta and vegetables are cooked to your liking. If necessary, thin with a little more stock.
Serve the soup with the reserved parsley sprinkled over each bowl and with the extra virgin olive oil and grated cheese on the table for everyone to help themselves.
Leftovers will keep for 2 days in the fridge or can be frozen. Note that the pasta is likely to continue soaking up liquid so you may need to add a little water when reheating on top of the stove or in a microwave.