Minestrone

I like to call this: Everything But The Kitchen Sink Soup. This meal came up one night as I was chopping vegetables for lunch I just started throwing bits my pressure cooker to cook for dinner later. You can also use an Instapot too. This recipe is just a guideline and you can substitute what you have on hand. The Calypso beans were a new one for me and so incredibly delicious due to their umami flavor, but really just a hybrid kidney bean. If you cannot find Calypso beans, try Borletti beans or whatever you have on hand, including chickpeas, as the photo shows above. Also, if you don’t have dried beans, you can used canned and then this soup takes around 30 minutes on the stovetop no pressure cooking needed. A bit of dried or fresh mushroom will add that missing umami flavor. I didn't brown the onions or do anything besides just throw it all in the pot - couldn't get easier than that!

1 shallot (or onion)

1 garlic clove

1 large carrot

2 celery sticks

optional: handful of beetroot stems (or other greens)

handful of fennel bulb stems

1 large baking potato

8 1/2 cups (2000ml) water

1 can Italian finely diced tomatoes

1 cup dried Calypso beans (a type of kidney bean) or chickpeas

optional: handful broken spaghetti pasta

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon oregano

Just before serving:

red chili flakes, to taste

2 teaspoons Maldon sea salt

Lemon wedges, for serving

chopped parsley

Method

Cooking options:

Crockpot: Place everything the crockpot and cook on low, for 6-8 hours.

Pressure cooker or InstaPot:

Finely chop the shallot and garlic clove, and place in the pot. Chop the carrot, celery, beetroot stems, fennel bulb stems, & potato in a large dice and place in the pot. Add the water, tomatoes, dried beans, fennel seeds, and oregano to the pot.Cover the pot (or close the Instapot lid) and bring to high pressure over medium-high heat. Once pressure has been reached, cook for 20 minutes at high pressure. Then, turn off the heat and allow to cool until safe to open.

Season the soup with red chili flakes to taste and approximately 2 teaspoons sea salt.

Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze into each bowl and a sprinkle of chopped parsley. Enjoy.