Low fatVeg-heavyHigh carb

Bean & Vegetable Soup

A soup for the end of the week.

30 min Serves 2 Stove, Saucepan

Per serving

356

kcal

19 g

protein

48.9 g

carbs

10.4 g

fat

5.3 g protein per 100 kcal · 14.5 g fibre. Calculated from the exact weights below using standard food composition data, so they are close estimates rather than lab values.

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Ingredients

For 2 servings.

  • Cannellini beans250 g
  • Tinned chopped tomatoes200 g
  • Frozen mixed vegetables200 g
  • Onion80 g
  • Stock cube10 g
  • Olive oil12 g
  • Parmesan(optional)20 g

Method

  1. 1Soften the onion, add everything else with a litre of water.
  2. 2Simmer 20 minutes.
  3. 3Crush some beans against the pan to thicken it.

New to cooking? Read this first

The techniques and safety points this recipe uses, explained from scratch.

Frozen vegetables need cookingShow

Frozen vegetables and sweetcorn are usually blanched, not fully cooked. After a listeria outbreak linked to frozen sweetcorn, food agencies advise cooking them unless the pack says 'ready to eat'.

  1. Add them straight from frozen — no need to thaw.
  2. Cook until they are piping hot all the way through, even if they are going into a salad (let them cool after).
How to chop (dice) an onionShow

The trick is to leave the root end on while you cut — it holds the layers together so the onion does not fall apart.

  1. Cut off the pointed top (not the hairy root end). Halve the onion from top to root.
  2. Peel off the papery skin and the first tough layer.
  3. Lay one half flat side down. Make a few cuts from top towards the root, stopping about 1 cm before it.
  4. Turn the knife flat and make one or two cuts parallel to the board, again stopping short of the root.
  5. Now slice across the first cuts with the claw grip. Small squares fall off. Bin the root end.

Ready when: Pieces about the size of a pea (finely chopped) or a fingernail (chopped).

Opening tinsShow

Ring-pull lids have razor-sharp edges once open.

  1. Pull the ring slowly and steadily towards you, keeping fingers away from the lid's edge.
  2. Don't press food down with your fingers inside an open tin — use a spoon.
Softening onions (and what 'soft' looks like)Show

Softening cooks the raw sharpness out of onions and turns them sweet. It is the start of most sauces, stews and curries.

  1. Heat the oil over medium heat, add the onion and a pinch of salt (it draws out water and speeds things up).
  2. Stir every minute or so. You want a gentle sizzle, not a loud fry.
  3. After about 5–8 minutes the pieces go glossy, floppy and see-through at the edges. That is 'softened'.
  4. Keep going another few minutes and they start turning golden — sweeter still. Only do that if the recipe says 'golden'.

Ready when: Floppy, shiny and slightly see-through, with no raw crunch when you taste a piece.

Simmer vs boil — what the bubbles tell youShow

A boil is big bubbles rolling hard across the whole surface. A simmer is much gentler: small bubbles rising lazily, a few breaking the surface. Stews, sauces and soups simmer; boiling makes meat tough and sauces catch on the bottom.

  1. Bring it up to the boil on a higher heat, then turn the heat down until the bubbling calms to a gentle simmer.
  2. Check every few minutes and adjust — a lid on makes it hotter, a lid off lets it thicken.
  3. Stir now and then, scraping the bottom, so nothing sticks and burns.

Ready when: Small, steady bubbles — not a still surface, not a rolling boil.

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A standard home version of a well-known dish, written for Solviro. Nutrition is estimated from ingredient weights and will vary with brands and portions.