Minestrone Soup

• 4 tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons oil
• 1 onion
• 1 stick celery
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 leek
• 2 courgettes
• 1 12 liters stock
• 50 g pasta
• 1 tablespoon tomato puree
• 200 g peas
• 100 g kale
• 25 g parmesan cheese
• basil
• salt
• pepper

1. Make a cross in the bottom of each tomato and put them in a heatproof bowl.
2. Pour over enough just-boiled water to cover the tomatoes and leave for 1 minute.
3. If the tomatoes are ripe enough, the skins should shrink back under the hot water.
4. Drain and leave to cool.
5. Heat the oil in a large non-stick saucepan or saute pan and fry the onion very gently for 5 minutes until softened but not coloured, stirring often.
6. While the onion is cooking, slip the skins off the tomatoes and cut the flesh into quarters.
7. Scoop out the seeds and chuck them out.
8. Cut the tomato flesh into rough 1cm cubes.
9. Add the celery, garlic, leek, and courgettes to the pan with the onion.
10. Stir over a low heat for a couple of minutes, then stir in the chopped tomatoes, pour over the chicken stock and bring to the boil.
11. Break the spaghetti into short lengths and drop them into the pan.
12. Add the tomato puree and bring the soup back to the boil, then cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
13. Add the peas, kale or cabbage, and cook for another 5 minutes or until the pasta is just tender.
14. Season the soup with salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper.
15. Serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan and torn basil leaves if you like.

tomatoes, oil, onion, celery, garlic, leek, courgettes, liters, pasta, tomato puree, peas, kale, parmesan cheese, basil, salt, pepper

Taken from www.food.com/recipe/minestrone-soup-495502 (may not work)