Minestrone Soup

Minestrone Soup 1 tbsp olive oil 150g / 5oz bacon , finely chopped 1 onion , chopped 2 garlic cloves , minced 800g/ 28oz crushed tomato (or 700g passata) 2 cups chicken stock/broth , low sodium 2 cups water 3 tbsp tomato paste 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 400g/ 14oz canned kidney beans , drained 1 tsp EACH salt and pepper 1 cup small pasta , like ditalini, tiny shells, risoni/orzo, baby macaroni, alphabet or star pasta 1/4 cup parmesan , grated MINESTRONE VEGETABLES (NOTE 1): 1 celery rib* , chopped 1.5cm / 1/2" pieces 1 large carrot* , peeled and diced 1.5cm / 1/2" pieces 1 zucchini* , chopped 1.5cm / 1/2" pieces 1 potato* , cut into 1.5cm / 1/2" pieces (peel if needed) 100g / 3oz green beans* , trimmed then cut into 2cm / 3/5" lengths 2oz/ 60g baby spinach (or frozen spinach, kale or similar - can leave out) FOR SERVING - OPTIONAL: More parmesan Chopped parsley Crusty bread for dunking! Heat oil over high heat in a very large pot. Add bacon, cook until starting to turn golden (~2 min) then add garlic and onion. Cook until onion is translucent and bacon is light golden ~ 2minutes. Add carrot, celery and zucchini. Stir for 1 minute to coat in flavour. Add crushed tomato, chicken stock, water, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, kidney beans, salt and pepper. Stir, bring to simmer, then place lid on and adjust heat so it's simmering gently. Simmer 20 minutes, then add potato and beans. Simmer 5 minutes, then add pasta. Cook for time per pasta packet MINUS 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from stove, stir through parmesan and baby spinach. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper. Serve, garnished with extra parmesan and a sprinkle of parsley if desired. Warm crusty bread on the side would certainly be the cherry on top! Notes: Any vegetables - use any vegetables you want that are suitable for cooking in soup form. Add them into the pot based on how long they take to cook. Vegetarian option - skip the bacon, use vegetable rather than chicken stock. Then give the broth a flavour bump with one of these options: Increase parmesan to 3/4 cup (75g) Add 2 tsp Vegeta (or other vegetable stock powder) instead of salt (then add salt at end to taste) (For meat free vegetarians) Use 3 anchovies (finely chopped) or 2 tsp anchovy paste - add it halfway through cooking onion, it will dissolve. Adds a good hit of umami into broth, no sign of fishiness once simmered Storage - if you use small pasta and cook it for 1 1/2 minutes less than per packet time (as per recipe directions), then it keeps fine in the soup broth. Keeps for 3 to 4 days - pasta does absorb liquid so it gets thicker, almost stew like. You can add a bit of water to thin it out, but not too much because it will dilute flavour. Consider it a soup on day 1, Minestrone Stew on day 2 and beyond! Freezes well too - cool, freeze, thaw, reheat using preferred method.