Showing posts with label italian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label italian. Show all posts

Wednesday, 5 September 2007

A Big Ol' Pot O' Soup..

Waking up this morning to grey, threatening clouds - put me in the mood for some soup...any type really, I love soup.

So I went with a minestrone type soup...very nourishing and my daughter loves it, my son though, well he is fussier so what I do for him is, blitz his up so it is a puree consistency and then I cook him up some pasta and it is poured over the top like a pasta sauce. Then, my inner peace is restored - knowing he has eaten a few veggies...ahh kids...and all I can think is, "Hey better than McDonalds!" cacca crap...

Usually, when I make soup with beans in it, I like to soak them overnight, but I always have a few cans of beans ready to go in the pantry too..so this time, I used tinned beans and also, use a tin of good quality, Italian tinned tomatoes...none of this homebrand crap..they gotta be Italian.

1 large brown onion, chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 sticks of celery, diced
2 medium potatoes, cubed
drizzle of good olive oil
1½ litres of vegetable stock
1 400g can diced tomatoes
1 400g can of borlotti beans
¼ C peas
½ C risoni pasta (or any other soup pasta)
sea salt flakes (mine is from the Indian Ocean in Western Australia ♥)
cracked black pepper


Prepare and chop all vegetables.

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Drizzle some olive oil into your pot.

Add all the onion, garlic and veg and saute for approx. 5 minutes, until veg soften and onion goes opaque.

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Add the tin of tomatoes, stirring through and then the S&P and stock.


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Bring soup to the boil, and then reduce the heat until it is simmering

Allow to simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are soft.

Add peas, borlotti beans and pasta.


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Cook until pasta is al dente.

Dish up...I like to serve it with a mound of freshly grated parmesan in the middle and some cute little basil leaves, the hot soup melts the parmesan into a big cheesy goo and then the aroma of the basil just leaves you begging to eat this soup!


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Saturday, 24 March 2007

Dead easy "Insalata Caprese"


'Insalata Caprese' is a simple, gorgeous salad, utilising tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, basil, and olive oil. So simple, it can be thrown together at the last moment...I LOVE it's simplicity and it tastes like heaven...



  • 220g fresh buffalo mozzarella, sliced approx. 1.5cm thick

  • 2 large vine ripened tomatoes, sliced approx. 1.5cm thick

  • 1 large handful fresh basil leaves, torn roughly

  • Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

  • 1/4 C extra virgin olive oil



  1. On a serving plate, arrange the mozzarella and tomato around the edge, alternating mozzarella and tomato slices.

  2. Tear up the basil leaves, and sprinkle them on top of the tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.

  3. Season with a bit of sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

  4. Just before serving, drizzle the extra virgin olive oil over the salad.