Peasant soup

This is my own version of a peasant soup which is also enjoyed in some of the best restaurants all over Italy. For this dish, the Neapolitans use pasta called munnezzaglia which is all the leftovers from different packets of pasta for a quick meal, you can simply break spaghetti into smaller pieces. To speed up the preparation of this dish I suggest using tinned beans instead of dried.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled ad diced
• 2 potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 celery stick, diced
• 1 large tomato, peeled, de seeded and diced
• 1.2 litres (2 pints) chicken stock
• 2×375 g (13 oz) tins cannellini o borlotti beans, drained
• 200 g (7 oz) munnezzaglia or spaghetti, broken into pieces
• 1 small chili peppers, finely chopped
• 2 basil leaves, shredded
• 1 tbsp virgin olive oil
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Heat the oil and sweat the garlic. Add the vegetables and toss well. Pour in the stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Add half the beans. Mash the remaining beans to a pulp with the back of a fork and add to the stock with the pasta, the chili and the basil. Cook gently for another 8 minutes, stirring from time to time to prevent the mixture sticking. Serve with a trickle of oil on top.