Our take on a classic Italian dish. White beans, red lentils and wholewheat pasta combine to make a hearty and satisfying soup that will provide your gut with a great amount of fibre, boosting your immune system during the winter months

Tomato, Pasta & Bean Soup

Makes 6 Serving | Ready in 40 minutes

Ingredients

480g chopped tomatoes
240g cannellini beans – drained 
120g dry red lentils – rinsed 
120g whole wheat spaghetti
1 brown onion – diced
1 carrot – diced
2 stalks celery – diced
4 garlic cloves – crushed
40g tomato puree
21/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
1tbsp capers – chopped
1.8L low salt vegetable stock 
1tbsp oregano
2tsp dried thyme
5g fresh basil – to garnish
Sea salt and black pepper

Substitutions

There are lots of options and swap outs for this recipe to tailor it for a range of diets and flavour preferences.

Adding Protein: Any leftover meat you have from a roast or another meal will shred nicely into this soup. Use high protein pea or lentil pasta to add extra protein. Fry off some tofu or tempeh marinated in cumin and paprika and add to the soup after cooking.

Adding Fermented Foods: A spoonful of miso will bring some amazing umami flavour to this dish. Don’t put in any salt if you are using miso as it has a lot of sodium in it. A small amount of cheese made with unpasteurised milk can be crumbled on top for some probiotic goodness.

Reducing Food Waste: If you have any cherry or salad tomatoes left over in the fridge that have gone a bit soft, pop them in a roasting tin with some garlic cloves, olive oil and salt and roast for 30 minutes. Mash them up and add them to the soup. 

Method

Step 1. Prep vegetables according to ingredients list.

Step 2. Cook onion, carrot, celery and garlic over a medium heat in the olive oil.

Step 3. Once softened, add tomatoes, tomato puree and bring up to heat, simmer for 5 minutes. Slow cooking this mixture for a while will add flavour but isn’t necessary.

Step 4. Add chopped capers, dried herbs, stock and lentils, bring up to heat and simmer for 8 minutes.

Step 5. Add beans and pasta and simmer for another 8 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked to your liking. Enjoy!

Chef Gino's Top Tip

Fancy a little crunch? If you have some stale bread, make some croutons by drizzling with olive oil and putting in the oven at 180°c for 10 minutes or until crispy.