Green Bean Minestrone with Green Toa

A RECIPE BY KATHY SLACK
Serves: 1 ● Prep time: 5 minutes ● Cooking time: 20 minutes
This is a great mid-week lunch that you can knock up in 20 minutes. It’s full of greenery so feels especially nourishing. The quantities for the ‘spread’ makes more than you will need for one lunchtime, but it keeps well in the fridge for a few days and is endlessly useful. And don’t forget the splash of vinegar to finish, it really lifts the dish.
method
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 celery stick, finely chopped
  • 2 spring onions, white and green parts, finely chopped
  • 1 small garlic clove, crushed with a little salt
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 350ml fresh, hot chicken or vegetable stock
  • 30g orzo pasta
  • 100g green beans, trimmed and cut into 1cm pieces
  • 1 tsp Aspall White Wine Vinegar
  • Grated parmesan, to serve
  • Toast, to serve

For the ‘spread’:

  • Small bunch basil, leaves picked
  • Small bunch mint, leaves picked
  • 1 small garlic clove, crushed with a little salt
  • 1 tbsp Aspall Red Wine Vinegar
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • ½  tsp anchovy paste (or 2 chopped anchovy fillets)
  1. For the spread, put all the ingredients in a herb chopper and whizz to make a thick green paste. Check the balance of flavours and adjust, it should be a big herby hit of saltiness and acidity. Set aside.
  2. In a saucepan, warm the extra virgin olive oil over a medium heat, add the celery and spring onions and sweat for 8-10 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and bay leaf and cook for another couple of minutes, but don’t let the garlic turn brown. 
  3. Pour in the stock and, once simmering, add the pasta. Cook for 4 minutes then add then beans and cook for another 4 minutes until both pasta and beans are al dente.
  4. Remove from the heat, stir the white wine vinegar and check the seasoning, it might need more salt. Spoon into a bowl and top with a grating of parmesan. Serve alongside warm toast onto which you have slathered the green spread.


ingredients
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 celery stick, finely chopped
  • 2 spring onions, white and green parts, finely chopped
  • 1 small garlic clove, crushed with a little salt
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 350ml fresh, hot chicken or vegetable stock
  • 30g orzo pasta
  • 100g green beans, trimmed and cut into 1cm pieces
  • 1 tsp Aspall White Wine Vinegar
  • Grated parmesan, to serve
  • Toast, to serve

For the ‘spread’:

  • Small bunch basil, leaves picked
  • Small bunch mint, leaves picked
  • 1 small garlic clove, crushed with a little salt
  • 1 tbsp Aspall Red Wine Vinegar
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • ½  tsp anchovy paste (or 2 chopped anchovy fillets)
method
  1. For the spread, put all the ingredients in a herb chopper and whizz to make a thick green paste. Check the balance of flavours and adjust, it should be a big herby hit of saltiness and acidity. Set aside.
  2. In a saucepan, warm the extra virgin olive oil over a medium heat, add the celery and spring onions and sweat for 8-10 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and bay leaf and cook for another couple of minutes, but don’t let the garlic turn brown. 
  3. Pour in the stock and, once simmering, add the pasta. Cook for 4 minutes then add then beans and cook for another 4 minutes until both pasta and beans are al dente.
  4. Remove from the heat, stir the white wine vinegar and check the seasoning, it might need more salt. Spoon into a bowl and top with a grating of parmesan. Serve alongside warm toast onto which you have slathered the green spread.


Related Recipes

Helda beans are like runner beans 2.0. They are flat and long like runners,but smooth-skinned and stringless – a runner...
Learn More
The fresh flavour of British Asparagus combines beautifully with light soya beans, creamy avocado, and sweet and salty bacon. Dressed...
Learn More
This lightly spiced relish is such a good way to preserve an abundance of homegrown beans — either French varieties...
Learn More